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LIFE OF JAMES KNOX POLK. 



'* 



JAMES KNOX POLK, 



HISTOBY OF HIS ADMINISTRATION; 



EMfiBAOnrO 



THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS, THE DIFFICULTIES WITH MEX- 
ICO, THE SETTLEMENT OF THE OREGON QUESTION 
ANB OTHER IMPORTANT EVENTS. ' 



BY JOHN sKjENKINS, 

A17TH0R OP «THE HISTOJY OP THE WAR WITH MEXICO," ETC. 



my 

AUBaRN AND BUFFALO: 

JOHK E. BEARDSLEY^ 







Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 185/^, by 

JAMES M. ALDEN, 

in the Clerk's Ofl5ce of the District Court of the United S»"tcs for the 

Northern District of New York. 



T. B. SMITH, Stereotyper, 
216 William st., N. Y. 



HON. WILLIAM L MARCY, 



A TOKEN OF HIGH PERSONAL ESTEEM 

Siljis bolume 

IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 

The life oe any American President, I feel confident, 
would not need to be specially commended to the atten- • 
tion of his countrymeu^ — and certainly not that of James 
K. Polk, — for whatever nwy be the opinions entertained 
in regard to the administration of which he was the head, 
it must be conceded that great air3 important measures 
were submitted to their consideratioL and action, and 
that interests of the deepest magnitude wtre confided to 
their hands. 

Mr. Polk could not have said, with Augustus Caesar, 
that he found the capital of the republic built of brick, 
and left it constructed of marble ; but he might have 
claimed that he found her territories bounded on the 
south by the Sabine and the 42d parallel, and her au- 
thority west of the Rocky Mountains existing only in 
name, — and when he transferred the government to other 
hands. New Mexico and California were annexed to her 
domain, and her flag floated in token of sovereignty on 



PREFACE. 



the banks of the Rio Grande, on the shores of the Straits 
of Fuca, and in the bay of San Francisco. 

How and in what manner these territorial acquisitions 
were made, is a question worthy of inquiry. -Mr. Polk 
did not want for able defenders to vindicate the policy of 
his administration ; nor did his conduct escape censure a,vd- 
criticism. By some, as in the pamphlet of the late Mr. 
Gallatin, one of the most important measures w'*:^ which 
the late President was identified — the war w^'tli Mexico — 
was reviewed in a spirit. of candor and iQ'ankness, yet, as 
I think, under the influence of erroneous impressions with 
regard to the facts upon whic^^ conclusions were based ; 
and by others, as in thf Review of Mr. Jay and the 
productions of those v^iio have followed in his wake — sed 
longo intervallo — vvith pure and honest motives, but with 
dogmatic assn^nptions, and appeals to the passions and 
the sympathies, rather than with well-founded argu- 
ments. 

It is not claimed for this volume, that it is entirely 
impartial. Entertaining his own views- in all sincerity, 
the writer has not hesitated to express them ; and this 
right he is quite willing should be exercised by those who 
differ from him in opinion. 

It has not appeared to me to be advisable, to present 
a detailed history of the war in Mexico, for two reasons. 
In the first place, so much has been written on the sub- 



PREFACE. xi 

ject, that there is very little left to add to the accounts 
of the campaigns ; and secondly, it would seem like claim- 
ing for Mr. Polk individually, the merit of transactions 
•in Tvhich he had no direct participation, and therefore 
doing his memory a positive injustice. 

'Aside from all political considerations, there is some- 
thing in the character of Mr. Polk, in his early struggles 
and iuliis triumphs, which is worthy of notice, and will 
challenge admiration. " There is nothing so interesting 
to me," says Joanna Baillie, " as to trace the course of 
a prosperous man through this varied world. First, he 
is seen like a little stream, weai'ing its shallow bed 
through the grass, circHng and winding, and gleaning up 
its treasures from every twinkling rill as it passes ; fur- 
ther on, the brown sand fences its margin, the dark 
rushes thicken on its side; further on still, the broad 
flags shake their green ranks, the willows bend their wide 
boughs o'er its course ; and yonder, at last, 'the fair river 
appears, spreading his bright waves to the light."* 

For a great portion of the materials from which this 
book has been prepared, I am indebted to the kindness 
of many friends, all of whom I could scarcely enumerate ; 
but each individually will please accept my sincere 
thanks. 

* Comedy of the " Second Marriage " 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE I. 

Thomas Jefferson — Declaration of American Independence— Origin of the 
Movement— Early Settlers of North Carolina — Character — The Meck- 
lenburg Resolutions — The Polk Family— Their History — Patriotic 
Conduct during the Revolution . . .17 

CHAPTER II. 

Birth of James K. Polk — His Parents — Their Children — Removal to 
Tennessee — Early Life and Character of James— ^Youthful Ambition — 
His Education— Enters the University of North Carolina— Character 
as a Student— Graduates— Honors bestowed upon him by his Alma 
Mater . .....•• 35 



CHAPTER III. 

Commences the Study of the Law in the Office of Felix Grundy— Se- 
cures the Friendship of Andrew Jackson — Admitted to the Bar— Success 
in the Practice of his Profession — His Political Associations — Stylo and 
Manner as a Public Speaker — Chief Clerk and Member of the Ten 
nessee Legislature — Duelling Law — Internal Improvements — His Mar- 
riage—Mrs. Polk ....... 45 



XIV CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Chosen a Member of Congress— Repeated Reelections— Opposition to IMr 
Adams' Administration — The Panama Mission and the American Sys- 
tem—Support of General Jackson and Mr. Van Buren— The Tariff Ques- 
tion—Internal Improvements — The Pension Laws— United States Banlc — 

. Independent Treasury ...... 57 



CHAPTER V. 

Dissensions in the Republican Party in Tennessee — Nomination of Judge 
White for the Presidency— Course of Mr. Polk— Chosen Speaker of the 
House of Representatives— Reeleeted—Character as a Presiding Officer — 
Vote of Thanks — Farewell Address . . » . 85 



CHAPTER VI. 

Mr. Polli supported by the Democratic Party in Tennessee as their Candi- 
date for Governor — The Canvass — His Election — Inaugural Address — 
Executive Recommendations — His Administration — A Candidate for 
Reelection — Defeat — State Politics .... 100 



CHAPTER VII. 

Presidential Canvass of 1844— The Texas Question— Letter of Mr. Polk to 
the Citizens of Cincinnati — The Baltimore Convention — Nomination of 
Mr. Polk— His Acceptance— Resolutions of the Convention— The Elec- 
tion—Reception at Nashville— Journey of the President Elect to Wash- 
ington— His Inauguration— Address . s . .118 



CONTENTS. XV 



CHAPTER VIII. * 

Position of the President— His Cabinet— The Washington Globe and The 
Union— Meeting of Congress— First Annual Message— The Oregon 
Boundary Question— History and Progress of the Negotiation— Ultima- 
tum of the American Government— Proposition of Great Britain— Con- 
clusion and E,atification of a Treaty . lei 



CHAPTER IX. 

Opposition of Mexico to the Annexation of Texas— The Question of Btfim- 
dary— American troops ordered to Texas— Attempt to Negotiate— Re- 
fusal to receive a Minister— Advance of General Taylor to the Rio 
Grande— Commencement of Hostilities— Incidents of the war — Repeated 
• efforts to open negotiations— The Armistice— Treaty of Peace . 236 

CHAPTER X. 

The Independent Treasury— Tariff of 1846— Course in regard to Appoint- 
ments—River and Harbor Veto— Second Annual Message— Special Mes- 
sage on the Improvement Bill — Thirtieth Congress — President's Mes- 
sage — Refusal to Communicate Diplomatic Correspondence — Oregon 
Territorial Bill— Views of Mr. Polk— Presidential Election— Last Con- 
gress during his administration — Inauguration of his successor. 230 

CHAPTER XI. 

Return to Tennessee — Speech at Richmond— Arrival Home— Prospects for 
the Future— Vanity of Human Hopes and Expectations— His Death- 
Funeral Honors— Personal Appearance and Character- Conclusion 325 



LIFE 



OP 



JAMES I. POLK. 



CHAPTER I. 



Thomas JefiFerson.— Declaration of American IndependeiKQ,_origin of the 
Movement. — Early Settlers of North Carolina.— Characi^^ "phe Meck- 
lenburg Resolutions. — The Polk Family. — Their Histor^ _ patriotic 
Conduct during the Revolution 



On the south-western slope of Monticello, — ^m the nitlst 
of the native forest hallowed by associations which hav^ 
protected it from the faggot and the axe, and where the 
soft winds that disturb its solemn stillness murmur cease- \ 
lessly of the storied past, — there stands a plain granite 
obelisk, looking forth over the fair land, which he, who 
reposes there in the silence of death, loved with the af- 
fection of a son, and whose institutions he regarded with 
peculiar veneration. No heraldic blazonry may be wit- 
nessed there, — none of the sculptured pomp of woe. All ■ 
is simple, chaste, appropriate — yet impressive. 

Read the few lines graven upon this humble memento, 
in remembrance of one who asked no nobler monument I 
— The inscription, in brief but eloquent words, relates a 
whole chapter, and that the brightest and the proudest 



18 



JAMES KNOX POLK. 



in the life of him -whose memory is t^us consecrated. — 
" Here lies buried, Thomas jEFFF-iSON,"— so runs the 
Vecord,— " Author of the Declara*on of Independence !" 
This is not merely the ass^'tion of a claim to the 
authorship of that memorabh document, which can per- 
ish only with the nation tJ^t it called into existence ; 
but it is also an import^^it historical fact, and one of 
which the party dii-ectlT concerned, and those interested 
in his memory, have .^t right to be proud. It is, as it 
were, the impartial judgment of the recording Muse. 
As such, it will l-'»^e ^^ the history, and be perpetuated 
in the tradition's? of the American people. But neither 
the Sage of Monticello, nor his most ardent admirer, 
ever claim^^ ^^^^ ^6 was the sole originator of the great 
moveme;-*<^ to which the Declaration of '76 gave form and 
substs^ce. Its germs were planted in ten thousand 
tert'^^y long before the resolutions of Patrick Henry 
c/icerning the Stamp Act were offered, or his eloquent 
roice had sounded the alarm ; its hopes and its impulses 
throbbed in ten thousand bosoms long before the chimes 
of the old State-house bell in Philadelphia proclaimed 
" liberty throughout this land, unto all the inhabitants 
thereof ;" and they only waited "the hour and the man" 
to call them into action, and give them expression. 

Occasions were not wanting, when the intolerance of 
oppression, and the stern resistance to tyranny, which 
were characteristic of the colonists, found utterance in 
something more than mere words and protestations. 
Such were the opposition of Massachusetts, in 1680, to 
the commercial restrictions ; the refusal to surrender 
the charter of Connecticut to Sir Edmund Andros ; the 



EARLY INHABITANTS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 19 

public sympathy evinced in New York, in behalf of 
those who were prosecuted for libels on Governor Cosby ; 
Bacon's rebellion in Virginia ; and the repeated efforts 
made in the Carolinas to resist the oppressions of the 
proprietaries. At a later day, as the time approached for 
the general outbreak, its foreboding thimders were heard 
not only among the hills of New England, but they were 
echoed amid the leafy forests and luxui'iant savannas of 
the sunny South ; and when the signal of war was given 
at Lexington, the citizens of Mecklenburg County, in far- 
distant North Carolina, assembled in Convention, and 
were the first solemnly and deliberately to proclaim their 
independence of the British crown. 

The first settlers and inhabitants of North Carolina 
had conceived a strong " passion for representative 
government ;" they were opposed, alike from prejudice 
and from principle, to excessive taxation, to commercial 
monopolies and restrictions, and to any abridgment of 
their political liberties. They were men- " who had 
been led to the choice of their residence from a hatred 
of restraint, and had lost themselves among the woods in 
search of independence. Are there any who doubt man's 
capacity for self-government, let them study the history 
of North Carolina ; its inhabitants were restless and 
turbulent in their imperfect submission to a government 
imposed on them from abroad ; the administration of the 
colony was firm, humane, and tranquil, when they were 
left to take care of themselves. Any government but 
one of their own institution was oppressive."* 

* Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. ii., p. 158. 



20 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1735. 

We cannot wonder that such was the character of the 
founders of this colony, when we inquire into their ori- 
gin. They were the descendants and kinsmen of the 
Scottish Covenanters ; of the men who, at all times op- 
posed to the exercise of arbitrary authority, resisted the 
tyrannous measures of Charles I., and set Cromwell at 
defiance ; of the Seceders of 1741 and 1843, who would 
not consent to allow the right of patronage, or permit 
the civil power to interfei* in the affairs of the Church 
endeared to them by the associations of infancy, and the 
recollections of age. They sprung, in great part, from 
the Scottish colonists who emigrated to Ireland under the 
auspices of James I., and settled there to disseminate 
the reformed religion, " for conscience sake." 

From Ireland, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians journey- 
ed across the Atlantic, in search of the freedom in mat- 
ters of religion which had been denied to them at home. 
Pilgrims in quest of "a faith's pure slmne," — where he 
who ministered in holy things should be the faithful and 
devoted servant of his God, and not the miserable de- 
pendent on royal favor, — they braved persecution and 
danger, the perils of the sea and of the land, to erect 
their standard and practice their creed, unquestioned of 
man, amid the solitudes of the Western World. Not in 
vain were these trials undergone, or these perils encoun- 
tered. Their patient endurance was rewarded by the 
discovery of the object which they earnestly longed to se- 
cure. They planted the groves and the orchards, whose 
rich fruitage has blessed and cheered their posterity. 

" They have left unstained what there they found, — 
Freedom to worship God !" 



1735. j EMIGRATION FROM IRELAND. 21 

About the year 1735, or shortly thereafter, the em- 
igrants from Ireland " sought the wilds of America by two 
avenues ; the one, by the Delaware River, whose chief 
port was Philadelphia, and the other by a more southern 
landing, the port of Charleston, South Carolina. Those 
landing at the southern port, immediately sought the fer- 
tile foi-ests of the upper country, approaching North 
Carolina on one side, and Georgia on the other ; and not 
being very particular about boundaries, extended south- 
ward at pleasure, while, on the north, they were checked 
by a counter tide of emigration. Those who landed on 
the Delaware, after the desirable lands east of the Alle- 
ghanies, in Pennsylvania, were occupied, turned their 
course southward, and were speedily on the Catawba : 
passing on, they met the southern tide, and the stream 
turned westward, to the wilderness long known as ' Be- 
yond the Mountains;' now, as Tennessee. These two 
streams, from the same original fountain, Ireland, meet- 
ing and intermingling in this new soil, preserve the char- 
acteristic difference ; the one, possessing some of the air 
and manner of Pennsylvania ; and the other, of Charles- 
ton. These are the Puritans, the Roundheads of the 
South, the Blue-stockings of all countries ; men that set- 
tled the wilderness on principle, and for principle's sake ; 
that built churches from principle, and fought for liberty 
of person and conscience, as their acquisition, and the 
birthright of their children."* 

From what has been said, it must not be inferred, that 
the inhabitants of North Carolina, during the Revolution, 

• Foote's Sketches of Ndrth CaroHnai ^- 188. 



22 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1775. 

were, to a man, devoted to the Whig cause, — that there 
were no Loyalists among them. That was not the case. 
North Carolina differed not in this respect from her sis- 
ter colonies ; and the remarks of Judge Marshall, with 
reference to the citizens of the Southern States generally, 
are particularly applicable to her population. " Being 
almost equally divided," he says, " between the two 
contending parties, reciprocal injuries had gradually 
sharpened their resentments against each other, and had 
armed neighbor against neighbor, until it became a war 
of extermination. As the parties alternately triumph- 
ed, opportunities were alternately given for the exercise 
of their vindictive passions."* In the lower counties of 
North Carolina, within the atmosphere of the provincial 
court, nearly all the inhabitants were infected with loy- 
alty, while in the upper counties there was as great a pre- 
ponderance of Whigs. Between the two parties, or fac- 
tions, a fierce and unrelenting warfare was incessantly 
waged. Occupied as they were with enemies at home, 
the Whigs of North Carolina were therefore unable to 
spare many of their number for service in distant sec- 
tions of the Confederacy ; and it cannot, in justice, be 
mentioned to their reproach, that they remained at home, 
to protect their wives and children, their property and 
their firesides, from their infuriated opponents. 

In the mountain district of North Carolina, the seeds 
of independence were early sown, and they soon germi- 
nated and ripened for the harvest. In this remote re- 
gion there were thousands of spectators, who watched 

• Life bf Washingt&n, rol. iv. p. 486. 



1775. J THE Mi!<L;KLENBURG MEETING. 23 

with eager anxiety the progress of the controversy in the 
Eastern provinces. The Boston Port Bill, and the act 
for restricting the commerce of the colonies, — though 
North Carolina, with New York, was excepted from the 
provisions of the latter,*— were not viewed with indif- 
ference. Frequent public meetings were held in Meck- 
lenburg county, then embracing the present county of 
Cabarrus, in the spring of 1775, at which the tyrannical 
measures of the British government were freely discussed. 
Those who participated in these discussions were sober, 
reflecting men ; moderate in speech and prudent in coun- 
sel, yet firm as their native hills, and whose • patri- 
otism was as real and as .pure as the virgin gold that 
slept uixdisturbed beneath them. 

As the result of their deliberations, it was finally 
agreed "that Thomas Polk, Colonel of the mihtia, long 
a surveyor in the province, frequently a member of the 
Colonial Assembly, weil known ami well acquainted in 
the surrounding counties, a man of great excellence 
and merited popularity, sliould be empowered to call a 
convention of the representatives of the people, whenever 
it should appear advisable. It was also agreed that these 
representatives should be chosen from the militia districts, 
by the people themselves ; and that when assembled for 
counsel and debate, their decision should be binding on 

* This exception was made, partly becauise the provincial assemblies of 
New York and North Carolina had not j-et officially recognized the meas- 
ures of resistance adopted in the other colonies, and partly through the in- 
tercession of Governor Tr^on, of New York, formerly the governor of North 
Carolina.— See Jones' Defence of the Kevolutionary History of North Car- 
olina, p 152, et seq. 



24 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1775. 

the inhabitants of Mecklenburg."* The proclamation of 
Governor Martin, the last royal governor, dissolving the 
last provincial assembly that met in North Carolina, be- 
cause its members could not be rendered subservient to 
his wishes, which was issued on the 8th of April, and the 
consequent excitement, seemed to present the emergency 
contemplated by the citizens of Mecklenburg. 

Accordingly, Colonel Polk issued his summons calling 
upon the committee-men to assemble in Charlotte, the 
county town, on the 19th day of May, 1775. Promptly 
obeying the call, between twenty and thirty of the most 
respectable and influential citizens of Mecklenburg, being 
the delegates chosen in the several districts, met in coun- 
cil at the appointed time. The occasion, also, called to- 
gether a large concourse of citizens, who did not directly 
participate in the proceedings, although heartily concur- 
rins: in them. Of this convei.tion Abraham Alexan- 
der was made chairman, and Ju in McKnitt Alexander 
officiated as clerk. After i\\v orr;:inizatiouwas completed, 
papers, brouglit by express that daj^, were read in the 
presence of the assembled multitude, announcing that 
the first blood of the Revolution had been shed at Lex- 
ington. 

The effect of tliis announcement was electrical. Every 
pulse throbbed hiph wiih patriotism, — every heart swell- 
ed with honest indignatiun." One general cry was raised 
in favor of declaring tliemselves forever independent of a 
government tliat paid no heed to tlieir just complaints, 
and soug])t to chastise tliem into submission. Resolu- 
tions tantamount to a declaration of indepoidence, pre- 
pared by Dr. Ephraim Brevard, were then read to the 

* Foote'^^ Skutcbes, p. 34. 



1775. j PROCEEDINGS. 25 

Convention, and referred to a committee consisting of their 
author and William Kennon, Esq., and the Rev. Heze- 
kiah James Balch, for revision. Eloquent speeches were 
also made by the members of the committee and other 
gentlemen. All the speakers concurred in expressing 
the opinion, that independence was both desirable and 
necessary ; but in the course of the animated discussion, 
a serious difficulty was suggested. After the defeat of 
the " Regulators" by Governor Tryon, on Alamance 
creek, in 1771, the inhabitants of that section of the col- 
ony had been forced to take the oath of allegiance to the 
King of Great Britain ; and the question was now asked, 
how could they absolve themselves from that allegiance 1 
Various replies were made to this inquiry ; some scouting 
at the idea, and others insisting that allegiance and pro- 
tection were reciprocal, and when the latter was with- 
drawn, allegiance ceased. 

At last one of the speakers carried his audience with 
him, by pointing to a green tree standing near the Court- 
house, in which they were assembled, and at the same 
time saying — " If I am sworn to do a thing as long as 
the leaves continue on that tree, I am bound by that oath 
as long as ' the leaves continue. But when the leaves 
fall, I am released from that obligation."* But it was 
not thought advisable hastily to come to a determination. 
One night was therefore given for further reflection and 
consultation, and the Convention adjourned till the follow- 
ing day at noon. 

All that night long,* and during the following morning, 

* Foote's Sketches, p. 37. 



26 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1775. 

the town of Charlotte presented a strange scene of ex- 
citement. The step proposed to be taken was the great 
theme of discussion. Grave men dehberated upon it in 
the privacy of their homes ; while their juniors collected 
in groups at the corners of the streets, to interchange 
their sentiments with more freedom, and with greater 
earnestness. When the time arrived for the reassem- 
bling of the Convention, the decision at which all had 
arrived, might have been read in the kindling eye and 
the firmly-compressed lip. The people had collected 
in still greater numbers from the surrounding country ; 
and not the least interested among the spectators, were 
the wives and mothers of many of those who were fore- 
most at this crisis, and who came there to encourage their 
husbands and sons by their kind words, and to cheer 
them with their smiles. 

The resolutions of Dr. Brevard, as amended by the 
committee, were again read amid the most profound still- 
ness. One universal ''aye" was the response of the 
Convention; and after the adjournment, Colonel Polk, 
from the court-house steps, read to the intensely-excited 
crowd that gathered round him, the following resolutions 
embodying the Declaration of Independence : 

THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION. 

" 1st. Resolved, That whosoever directly or indirectly abet- 
ted, or in any way, form, or manner, countenanced the un- 
chartered and dangerous invasion of our rights, as claimed 
,by Great Britain, is an enemy to this country — to America — 
and to the inherent and inalienable. rights of man. 

" 2d. Resolved, That we, the citizens of Mecklenburg Coun- 



1775.] THE MECKLENBURG DECLAK ITION. 27 

ty, do hereby dissolve the pohtical bands which have con- 
nected us to the mother country, and hereby absolve our- 
selves from all allegiance to the British Crown, and abjure all 
political connection, contract, or association, with that nation, 
who have wantonly trampled on our rights and liberties, and 
inhumanly shed the blood of American patriots at Lexington. 

" 3d. Resolved, That we do hereby declare ourselves a free 
and independent_people ; are, and of right ought to be, a 
sovereign and self-governing Association, under the control 
of no power other than that of our God, and the general 
government of the Congress ; to the maintenance of which 
mdependence, we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual 
cooperation, our lives, our fortu-v--, and our most sacred 
honor. 

" 4th. Resolved, That as we now acknowledge the exist- 
ence and control of no law or legal officer, civil or mihtary, 
within this county, we do hereby ordain and appoint as a 
rule of life, all, each and every of our fonner laws, — wherem, 
nevertheless, the crown of Great Britain never can be con- 
sidered as holding rights, privileges, immunities, or authority 
therein. 

" 5th. Resolved, That it is further decreed, that all, each 
and every military officer m this county, is hereby reinstated 
in his former command and authority, — he acting conforma- 
bly to these regidations. And that every member present, 
of this delegation, shall henceforth be a civil officer, viz., a 
Justice of the Peace, in the character of a 'Committee- 
man,' to issue process, hear and determine all matters of 
controversy, according to said adopted laws, and to preserve 
peace, union and hai-mony, in said county ;— and to use every 
exertion to spread the love of country and fire of freedom 
throughout America, until a more general and organized gov- 
ernment be established m this province." 



28 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1775. 

Loud cheers and other tokens of approbation followed 
the public reading of the resolutions bj Colonel Polk ; 
md when the people separated to return to their homes, 
their countenances and their actions indicated that thej 
were well pleased with what had been done. 

The authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration was 
■ for a long time questioned. The resolutions were pub- 
lished in the Cape Fear Mercury, and were character- 
ized bj Governor Martin, in a proclamation issued on 
the 8th day of August, 1775, as " a most infamous pub- 
lication, * * • * importing to be the resolves of a set 
of people styling themselves a committee for the county 
of Mecklenburg, most traitorously declaring the entire 
dissolution of th^ laws, government, and constitution of 
this country, and setting up a system of rule and regula- 
tion repugnant to the laws and subversive of His Majesty's 
government."* Copies of them were likewise dispatched, 
by a special messenger, to the delegates of North Caro- 
lina in the Continental Congress, who approved of them 
in sentiment, but thought the step premature, and there- 
fore did not present them to the body of which they were 
members, as they were requested to do. 

Yet, from the local character of these proceedings, 
they did not attract public attention to as great a degree 
as they would otherwise have done, and consequently no 
mention was made of them in the histories of Ramsay 
and Marshall. Mr. Jefferson, in a letter written in July, 
1819, in reply to one received from John Adams refer- 
ring to an account of the Mecklenburg declaration then 

* Jones' Defence, p. 185. 



1775.] MR. JEFFERSON MISTAKEN. 29 

recently published, treated the whole mafter as a hoax.* 
The publication of this letter, shortly after the decease 
of the writer, created considerable excitement in North 
Carolina, and particularly among the descendants of the 
revolutionary patriots of Mecklenburg county. Measures 
were finally taken by the legislature of the state to col- 
late and arrange the documents relating to the Mecklen- 
burg declaration, with such other testimony having refer- 
ence to the subject as might be obtained. These were 
published under the direction of Governor Stokes, in 
1831 ; and by them, and other publications which have 
subsequently appeared, the authenticity of the Mecklen- 
burg proceedings is established beyond cavil or doubt, f 

Mr. Jefferson was certaiidy mistakei^. It can no 
longer be questioned that the citizens of Mecklenburg 
county were the first to declare their independence, as 
the province itself was the first to empower her delegates 
in Congress " to concur with the delegates of the other 
colonies in declaring Independency. "| But it is unneces- 
sary to calumniate the memory of Mr. Jefferson in order 
to render justice to North Carolina, as has been don^by 
one of her writers. § He was in error, — honestly so, as 
the playful tone of his letter to Mr. Adams most conclu- 
sively shows. The truth can harm no man ; and that 
will not deprive him of one of his laurels, or detract in 
aught from his well-earned fame. 

* Jefferson's Works, vol. iv. p. 314. 

t Mecklenburg Declaration and Accompanying Documents, published 
under the authority of the General Assembly of North Carolina, Raleigh, 
1831 ; Jones' Defence, p. 294, et .seq.; Foote's Sketches, p. 33, et seq.; ibid., 
p. 204, et seq. 

t Journal of the Provincial Congress, (Raleigh, 1881,) p. 12. 

§ See Introduction to Jones' Defence. 



30 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1775. 

Among the most active participants in the Mecklen- 
burg proceedings, -were Thomas Polk and Ezekiel 
Polk, the former of whom resided in the immediate vi- 
cinity of Charlotte, and the latter in thb neighboring 
province of South Carolina, just over the border. They, 
Avith other prominent and influential men, appeared to 
take the lead in the movement, and their opinions and 
their action had great Aveight Avith their felloAV-citizens.* 
" Tradition ascribes to Thomas Polk the principal agency 
in bringing about the Declaration ;"t and it is said that 
an old resident of North Carolina, a Scotchman, beino- 
asked if he knew anything in relation to the matter, re- 
plied — " Och^ aye,, Tam Polk declared Independence 
lav g before anybody else I'^'l 

The two Polks Avere brothers ; and the Alexanders, 
the chairman and clerk of the Mecklenburg meeting, and 
Dr. Brevard, the author of tlie resolutions, were their 
near relatives. Thomas Polk was the great uncle, and 
Ezekiel Polk the grandfather, of James K. Polk, the 
late President of the United States. The founder of the 
Polk family in America 'Avas Robert Polk. His ancestors 
were of Scotch origin. They were among the colonist^ 
Avho settled in Ireland, and the family name is obviously 
the Irish corruption of Pollock. Robert Polk was born 
in Ireland, and was the fifth son of Robert Polk the 
elder, a native of the same country, who married Magda- 
len T(^sker, the heiress of a considerable estate. 

Robert Polk, the younger, married a Miss Gullet, by 

* Mecklenburg Declaration and Accompanying Documents, p. IG. 
t Jones' Defence, p. 295. :J: Rlecklenburg Declaration, &c., p. 26. 



IT75.] • THE POLK FAMILY. 31 

whom he had several children ; and among them -were 
Thomas and Ezekiel Polk. Soon after his marriage — 
probably between 1735 and 1740 — he removed to Amer- 
ica with others of the Scotch Irish immigrants, and estab- 
lished himself in^Sou'ierset County, on the Eastern Shore 
of Maryjand. Some of his descendtints are still to be 
found in that state ; and they were known for many 
years, in Sumerset, as the republican, or dehiocratic fam- 
il}-, because they were the only persons in the county 
occupying proniinent positions in society, whose political 
sentiments were of that complexion. Other members of 
the family, including Thomas, Ezekiel, and Charles 
Polk, follow'ed the current of emigration which swept 
onward to the base of the Alleghanies, qjid located tem- 
porarily in the neigliborhood of Carlisle, in Pennsylvania. 
From thence the three brothers, Thomas, Ezekiel, and 
Charles, removed to the southwestern frontier of North 
Carolina, about the year 1750, and settled in the county 
of Mecklenburg, then a part of Anson county, in the rich 
champaign country watered on the one hand by the noble 
Yadkia, and on the other by the romantic Catawba. 
Ezekiel subsequently changed his residence to South 
Carolina. 

The citizens of JMecklenburg county were not unmind- 
ful of the pledges they had given, mutually among each 
other, to maintain, at every hazard, the independence 
which they had declared ; and when the tide of war rolled 
thitherward, and their borders vfere harried with fire and 
sword, they remained firm and steadfast in their adher- 
ence to the cause they had espoused. In the contest for 
independence the Polks were especially conspicuous. 



82 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1775. 

Thomas being the eldest, he was naturally looked up to as 
the head of the family, and was put forward more promi- 
nently : he was a delegate to the Provincial Congress, 
colonel of the second battalion of minute-men raised in 
Salisbury district, the commanding officer of the militia 
of Mecklenburg county, and afterwards colonel of the 
fourth North Carolina regiment in the Continental ser- 
vice. But Ezekiel was not a whit behind his brother in 
zeal and devotion ; his support of the cause was as earnest 
and disinterested, his attachment to it as honest and sin- 
cere. In May, 1775, he received a captain's commission 
from the authorities of South Carolina, upon the recom- 
mendation of the Provincial Congress, and immediately 
thereafter raised a volunteer company of Rangers, who 
were employed against the Cherokee Indians and the To- 
ries. So faithfully did he execute the duties required 
of him, that he became particularly obnoxious to the lat- 
ter, and when the country was overrun by Cornwallis 
and his troops, he found it necessary to " take protec- 
tion," in order to save himself, his family and his prop- 
erty, from their vengeance. 

Charlotte and the adjacent country had long been re- 
garded by the British officers in command at the South, 
as the harboring- place of " traitors and rebels ;" and 
when the Whigs of the lower counties in the two Caroli- 
nas were forced to flee before the myrmidons of Rawdon 
and Tarleton, they were sure to be welcomed here with 
open hands and hearts. After the disastrous battle of 
Camden, in 1780, Lord Cornwallis established the head- 
quarters of his army at Charlotte, which he termed the 
" hornet's nest," and " the hotbed of rebellion." He 



1775.] OUTRAGES OF THE TORIES. 33 

quartered his troops in the dwellings of its inhabitants, 
and fed them on the provisions and supplies forcibly 
taken from their stores, 

A dark cloud seemed at this moment to obscure the for- 
tunes of America. Nearly all the states south of the 
Potomac were overrun by the royal troops, and their 
Tory allies were murdering and pillaging with impunity. 
" The British army was chiefly subsisted by plundering 
the Whigs, and a system of confiscation was adopted to 
transfer their real estate to their Tory neighbors by forced 
sales, the meagre proceeds of which went into the military 
chest. Stimulated by revenge and encouraged by exam- 
ple, it is not surprising that the Tories filled the country 
with rapine and blood. The farms of Whigs supposed to 
be in arms, were ravaged, their houses rifled and burned, 
and their wives and children turned out to perish, or sub- 
sist on charity, which dared not let the left hand know 
what the right hand did, lest it should be punished as a 
crime. If a husband and father ventured to look after 
his houseless flock, he was waylaid and murdered. Pris- 
oners were hanged or shot down in cold blood, and even 
members of the same families became the unrelenting ex- 
ecutioners of each other. * * * The laws were literally 
silent, and there were no courts to protect property or 
punish crime. Men hunted each other like beasts of prey, 
and the savages were outdone in cruelties to the livino- 
and indignities on the dead."* 

It was in this hour of gloom, that many of the best and 
truest patriots in the land " took protection," as it was 

* Kendall's Life of Jackson, pp. 42, 44. 



34 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1780. 

called, of the invader. This was not in the nature of an 
oath of allegiance, but simply a pledge not to molest the 
British troops while occupying a particular section of the 
country, in consideration whereof, protection was to be 
afforded against the Tories, and the spoliations of forag- 
ing parties. It was never considered to be an impeach- 
ment of a man's fidelity to the colonial cause, that he 
" took protection ;" it was often done, in an emergency, 
from the best of motives, — the safety of one's family and 
home ; it was done by» the noble martyr Hayne, and no 
stain rests on his memory. Indeed, it was the highest 
evidence of patriotism, for no one suspected even of a 
leaning towards Toryism needed to " take protection." 

The citizens of Mecklenburg county and the adjacent 
country, Avere the first to renounce their allegiance and 
declare themselves forever independent of the British 
crown. To that declaration they adhered in and through 
all. They " took protection," it is true, when the foot 
of the victorious Briton was planted upon their hearth 
stones. But they never despaired of the republic, — they 
never faltered in their faith : and one of the ablest and 
most untirmg of their persecutors has borne willing and 
repeated testimon}'^ to the fact, that their patriotism, from 
first to last, was ardent and sincerf.* 

* Tarleton's Campaigns of 1780 and 1781, p. 159, et seq. — See, also, 
Steadman's History of the American War, vol. ii. p. 217, et seq. 



CHAPTER II. 

Birth of James K. Polk— His Parents— Their Children— Removal to Ten- 
nessee—Early Life and Character of James— Youthful Ambition— His 
Education— Enters the University of North Carolina— Character as a 
Student— Graduates— Honors bestowed upon him by his Alma Mater. 

James Knox Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, 
North Carolina, on the second day of November, 1795, 
and was the oldest of ten children. His father was 
Samuel Polk, a son of Ezekiel Polk, before mentioned. 
His mother was Jane Knox, the daughter of James Knox, 
after whom her oldest son was named, a resident of 
Iredell County, North Carolina, and a Captain in the 
war of the Revolution. 

His parents were married in 1794. Besides the late 
President, they had five sons and four daughters. Three 
of the latter are now living. Of the sons, Marshall T. 
married and settled in North Carolina, and died there ; 
Franklin, John, and Samuel W., all died unmarried ; 
and WilHam H., appointed by President Tyler, in 1845, ^ 
Charge d' Affaires to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 
and a major of the 3d dragoons during the war with 
Mexico, now resides in Columbia, Tennessee. 

Samuel Polk, the father, was a plain, unpretending 
farmer, but of enterprising character; from necessity 
and inclination, frugal in his habits and style of living, 
yet kind and generous in disposition. " Thrown upon 
his own resources in early life, he became the architect of 



36 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1806. 

his own fortunes."* Immediately after the close of the 
Revolution, a strong tide of emigration set in from 
Mecklenburg and the adjoining counties, and flowing 
over the Mountains, rolled down upon the ranges of 
grassy hills, the undulating plains, the extensive reaches 
of grazing land, and the fertile vallej'^s of Tennessee. 
Attracted by the glowing accounts, given by the fii'st 
settlers and adventurers, of the beautiful daughter of his 
native state, Samuel Polk formed a determination to re- 
move thither with his family ; and if honesty of purpose, 
enterprise and industry, could accomplish that end, to 
achieve a competence for himself, and those who looked 
up to him for support and protection. 

From one cause or another the fulfilment of his design 
was postponed till the aufumu of the year 1806, when, 
accompanied by his wife and children, he followed the 
now Avell-trodden path of emigration that conducted him 
to the rich valley of the Duck river, one of the principal 
tributaries of the Tennessee.^ Here, in the midst of the 
wilderness, in 'a tract of country erected in the following 
year into the County of Maury, he established his new 
home. His example was imitated by all the Polk family 
in North Carolina, who, with the exception of one branch, 
" emigrated, and cast their lot in with the bold spirits 
tliat tought a home in the great valley of the Missis- 
sippi."! 

Having purchased a quantity of land, Samuel Polk 
employed himself in its cultivation ; following, at inter- 
vals, the occupation of a surveyor. By dint of patient 

* Democratic Revisw, May, 1838. 
t Foote's Sketches, p. 309. 



1806.1 EARLY LIFE AND CHAAACTER. 37 

industry and economy, and by liis untiring and energetic 
perseverance, he acquired a fortune equal to his wishes 
and his wants. He lived to behold the country around 
him become flourishing and prosperous ; to see its dark 
forests pass away like some vision of enchantment, and 
its broad plains and valleys blooming with fruits and 
flowers, and teeming with the luxuriant produce/of a fer- 
tile soil. He lived to witness the brilliant triumphs of 
his first-born son in his professional career, and to mark 
his manly bearing as he advanced with rapid strides on 
the pathway to greatness and fame. Respected as one 
of the first pioneers of Maury, and esteemed as a useful 
citizen and an estimable man, he finally closed his life at 
Columbia in 1827^ His wife, a most excellent and pious 
Avoraan, afterwards married a.gentleman by the name of 
Eden, and is now living in Columbia, loved and revered 
by all who know her, and can appreciate her many vir- 
tues and her worth. 

Her son James, the subject of this memoir, passed his 
boyhood in the iiiuublc position in life which his parents 
occupied. The lessons that he learned in this school were 
never forgotten. Here was formed his manly and self- 
reliant disposition : here were imbibed those principles of 
economy, industry, integrity and virtue, which adorned 
his ripened manhood. He was by no means a stranger 
to what, — unless, as in his case, accompanied by a happy 
and contented heart, — is the drudgery of daily toil. He 
agisted his father in the management of his farm, and 
was his almost constant companion in his surveying ex- 
cursions. They Avere frequently absent for Aveeks to- 
gether, treading the dense forests and traversing the rough 



38 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1806. 

cane-brakes which then covered the face of the country, 
and exposed to all the changes of the weather, and the 
dangers and vicissitudes of a life in the woods. On these 
occasions, it was the duty of James to lake care of the 
pack-horses and camp equipage, and to prepare the scanty 
and frugal meals of the surveying* party. 

When- a lad, he was strongly inclined to study, and 
often busied himself with the mathematical calculations of 
his father. He was very fond of reading, and Avas of a 
reflective turn of mind. In the imperfect and indistinct 
lines of early youth were to be traced the tokens of the 
man, — the certain indices of the future fixed and perma- 
nent character. Not indifferent to the sports and pas- 
times of boyhood, he engaged in them, not for amusement 
merely, but for the recreation they afibrded, for the light 
and joy they brought to his heart. To obtain a liberal 
education was his chief desire, and a profession was the 
great end at which he aimed. His habits, formed by the 
moulding hand of his exemplary mother, peculiarly fitted 
him for success in the sphere toward which his thoughts 
were directed, and on which his hopes were fixed. 

He was correct and punctual. He had industry and 
application. He had true native talent, — not the false 
gem that may dazzle and sparkle, and when brought to 
the test, appears mean and contemptible ; it was the pure 
diamond, borrowing not its lustre, but containing liglit 
Avithin itself. He had earnestness of purpose, subdued, 
perhaps, in expression, but, nevertheless, " the strong 
passion, which," said the philosopher of Vore,* " rescu- 

* Helvetius. 



1806. j PERSEVERANCE AND AMBITION. 39 

ing us from sloth, can alone impart to us that continuous 
and earnest attention, necessary to great intellectual ef- 
forts." He possessed genius, also, — 

" the voice within, 
That ever whispers, * Work and win !' " 

He had perseverance and ani])ition, — and these are 
traits which all the wealth of the Rothschilds cannot call 
into existence, where nature herself has not planted the 
seeds. What have they not achieved ? What can they 
not accomplish'? In the three hundred and sixtieth year 
before the Christian era, the Athenian people for the first 
time acknowledged the great mental powers, and the en- 
thusiastic and soul- stirring elorjuencc, of the orator of 
Preania. More than eight years had elapsed since he 
had made his debut in the Assembly, when the weakness 
of his voice, his harsh and careless style, and his ungrace- 
ful gesticulation, had brought on him the ridicule of his 
fellow-citizens. History informs us, that one kind friend 
stood by him in this crisis of his fortunes, and inspired 
and cheered him on to new efforts ; — might she not have 
added, that a voice in his heart continued to speak words 
of consolation and encouragement, in those anxious years 
of his probation ? — that in the long, wearisome nights, he 
devoted to study and toil, in his secret retreat, one sweet, 
familiar spirit, smiled hopefully on Demosthenes, and 
pointed his way, clearly and distinctly traced, though 
devious and difficult, to that bright hour which witnessed 
the full fruition of his fame ? 

The history of the world-famed " folly" of Fulton has 
been handed down to us as containing an instructive moral, 



40 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1806 

and a truthful lesson, which deserve to be remembered. 
We can now smile at the incredulity^ of the gaping and 
doubting crowd that assembled to behold his triumph over 
the great motive power which he had subjected to his 
will ;' or at the mirth-moving astonishment of those who 
dwelt on the banks of the Hudson, and trembled with 
fear when they saAv the flaming vessel plowing the waters 
" like a thing of life." But who can tell, how Herculean 
were the eiforts of our countryman's genius and persever- 
ance ; how diligently and patiently they toiled in the vast 
laboratory of discovery, without recompense or reward 
save their hopes for the future, to forge those mighty 
links that now bind nations and continents together. 

Most appropriately has the temple of Fame been rep- 
resented as adorning the embattled crest of some lofty 
and rugged eminence, — clouds and darkness hovering 
around its base, and " eternal sunshine" resting in love- 
liness and beauty on its summit. Under all circumstan- 
ces, the ascent is tedious and difficult. Delilahs there 
are, who beset the aspirant at every step, and seek to woo 
him from his enterprise by their soft blandishments; 
sweet Paphian bowers by the wayside invite him to re- 
pose, and groves of perfumed trees send forth their Sabean 
odors to intoxicate the mind and soul. All these influ- 
ences must be disres-arded at once and forever. ' ' Onward 
and upward" must be the motto to arouse the flagging 
spirit, to restore the drooping energies, to inspire to re- 
newed exertion, to cheer in every trial, and to soften the 
pang of every disappointment. The struggle may be 
arduous and protracted ; but the recompense is sure and 
certain. It may be deferred for long, but, sooner or la- 



1813. J HIS EDUCATION. 41 

tcr, the re^vard will come. Youthful Ambition, rightly 
directed and encouraged, never lacks the Avill, and while 
life is spared, it knows no such word as " fail !" 

In the infancy of the State of Tennessee, as is always 
the case in new settlements, the opportunities of instruc- 
tion were quite limited. The father of young Polk Avas 
not in affluent circumstances, though able to give all his 
children a good education. He regarded with favor the 
natural bent and inclination of his son's mind toward 
study, and kept him pretty constantly at school. Though 
afflicted for many years by a painful affection, from which 
he was only relieved by a surgical operation, James had 
been completely successful in mastering the English stud- 
ies usually taught, when his health began to give way. 
Fearing that his constitution had become so much weak- 
ened as to unfit him altogether for a sedentary life, his 
father, not without many an earnest remonstrance from 
his son, placed him Avith a merchant, with the view of 
fitting him for commercial pursuits. 

This was a severe blow to James. All his dearest 
hopes sfeemed about to be prostrated forever. He had no 
taste for the new duties that devolved on him, and their 
performance was irksome to him in the extreme. He had 
an antipathy, of which he could not divest himself, to the 
mercantile profession, almost as great as that of John 
Randolph, who could not endure " a man with a quill 
behind his ear." After remaining a few weeks with the 
merchant, James obtained the permission of his father, 
by much entreaty and persuasion, to return home ; and 
in the month of July, 1813, he was placed under the tui- 
tion of the Rev. Dr. Henderson. Subsequently he was 



42 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1815 

sent to the Murfreesborough Academy, then under the 
superintendence of Mr. Samuel P. Black, one of the most 
celebrated classical teachers in Middle Tennessee. 

Henceforward there were no obstacles in the way of his 
obtaining the education he so ardently desired. In less 
than two years and a half he prepared himself thoroughly 
for an advanced class in college ; and in the autumn of 
1815, being then in his twentieth year, he entered the 
University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, at the 
beginning of the sophomore year. This venerable insti- 
tution, at which so many of the most distinguished states- 
men, and the most eminent divines, in the Southern part 
of the Union, have been educated, was then under the 
charge of the Rev. Dr. Joseph Caldwell, "justly styled 
the father of the University."* Colonel William Polk, 
late of Raleigh, and the first cousin of the father of Pres- 
ident Polk, was also one of the most influential and ac- 
tive of the trustees, and had been such from about the 
time of the first establishment of the institution. 

At the University, Mr. Polk was most exemplary in 
the performance, of all his duties, not only as a member 
of college, but also of the literary society to which he 
belonged. He was punctual and prompt in every exer- 
cise, and never absent fromr ecitation or any of the relig- 
ious services of the institution. So high was his stand- 
ing, so remarkable his character, in this respect, that one 
of his classmates, who was something of a wag, was in 
the habit of averring, when he desired his hearers to 
place confidence in his assertions, that the fact he stated, 

* Foote's Sketches, p. 530. 



1818. J HO;;ORS OF HIS ALMA MATER. 43 •■ 

was "just as certain, as that Polk would get up at the 
first call." 

He was no superficial student; he was perfect and 
thorough in everything he undertook. He well under- 
stood the difierence between true merit and pretence. 
Untiring assiduity and close application characterized 
him throughout his whole collegiate course. Of the exact 
sciences he was passionately fond, though he Avas also an 
excellent linguist. At each semi-annual examination he 
bore away the highest honors, and at the close of the ju- 
nior year the first distinction was aAvarded to him and 
Ex-Governor William D. Moseley, of Florida. He grad- 
uated in June, 1818, with the highest distinction, which 
was assigned to him alone, as the best scholar in both the 
mathematics and classics, and delivered the Latin Salu- 
tatory Oration. The second distinction, at this com- 
mencement, was awarded to William M. Green, who de- 
livered the valedictory, and was afterwards Professor of 
Rhetoric and Logic in the University, which station he 
resigned in 1849 to enter upon his duties as Bishop of the 
Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Mississippi. 

Mr. Polk did not forget his Alma Mater amid the busy 
scenes, the turmoil and confusion, of his active life ; nor 
did she lose sight of one- who reflected so much credit 
upon her, in every station that he filled. He often re- 
visited her shrine, and attended the pleasant reunions of 
the Mother and her sons ; and at the annual commence- 
ment, in June, 1847, the honorary degree of Doctor of 
Laws was conferred upon him, together with John Y. 
Mason, late Secretary of the Navy, of the class of 1816, 
and Willie P. Mangum, of the Senate of the United 



44 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1818. 

States, and a member of the class of 1815, — a compli- 
ment, in each instance, most richly deserved, by good 
• scholarship and correct deportment while in college, and 
by ability and fidelity displayed in the public service. 



CHAPTER III. 

Commences the Study of the Law in the Office of Felix Gcundy— Se- 
cures the Friendship of Andrew Jackson— Admitted to the Bar— Success 
in the Practice of liis Profession— His Political Associations— Style and 
Manner as a Public Speaker— Chief Clerk and Member of the Ten- 
nessee Legislature— Duelling Law— Internal Improvements— His Mar- 
riage — INIrs. Polk, 



When Mr. Polk left the University, Ms health Tvas 
considerably impaired by his constant and unremitting 
application to his studies. But the hopes *id aspirations 
of youth, like the Avaters of the magical fountain which 
Ponce de Leon so longed to discover, are famed for their 
restorative powers ; and the mind, as the body, in the 
spring-time of life, contains within itself a host of recu- 
perative energies. A few months of relaxation and res- 
pite from study, were sufficient fully to restore him ;• and 
the choice of a profession was then to be considered and 
decided. This was not at all difficult. His thoughts 
had long been directed toward the law, and each suc- 
ceeding year had served to confirm and strengthen the 
desire which he had half formed ere the time came for 
sober and serious reflection. 

His finai determination was made in accordance with 
his previous' inclinations ; and at the beginning of the 
year 1819, he entered the office of Felix Gmndy, at 
Nashville. Mr. Grundy was then in the zenith of his 
fame — at the head of the Tennessee bar— enjoying the 



46 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1819. 

professional honors and rewards wliicli continued to floT\^ 
liberally upon him — and with the laurels he had won on 
the floor of the House of Representatives of the United 
States in defence of the war measures of President Mad- 
ison, blooming freshly on his brow. In him Mr. Polk 
found not only a legal preceptor whose rich stores,, of 
learning 'Were freely opened for his profit and instruction, 
but " an experienced Nestor," whose counsel and advice 
guided and directed his footsteps aright, upon the same 
road once travelled by himself, to the distinction aild 
eminence which he had attained. He found him, also, 
a warm and sincere friend, who admitted him to his con- 
fidence ^nd his heart, Avho sympathi^d with him over the 
difficulties that attended his first efforts to master the 
black-letter of his profession, who watched his progress 
with paternal solicitude and care, and who rejoiced most 
heartily at the success that rewarded his exertions. A 
friendship sprung up between them, cherished on the one 
side Avith all the ardor and disinterestedness of youth, 
and on the other, though less lavish, perhaps, in profes- 
sions, marked by the calm and deep earnestness of age : 
it stood the test of years, and the changes of time and cir- 
cumstance, and it was severed only by death, the great 
destroyer of human hopes and human ties. 

Beside being the favorite student of JNIr. Grundy, it 
was the good fortune of Mr. Polk, during his residence 
at Nashville, to attract the attention and to win the es- 
i:Qm of one who bound his friends to him with hooks of 
adamant, and whose favor could not be too highly prized ; 
of one whose influence over him, powerful though it 
was, was at all times voluntarily and cheerfully acknowl- 



1819.] FRIENDSHIP OF ANDREW JACKSON. 47 

edged ; of Andrew Jackson, the gallant defender of 
New Orleans, already occupying a proud position among 
the great men of the nation.* Both preceptor and pupil 
were ever welcome guests at the Hermitage ; both con- 
tributed, in after years, to the elevation of its occupant 
to the highest station in the land, and, the one in the 
Senate, and the other in the House, sustained and de- 
fended his administration against whomsoever assailed it, 
in storm and in sunshine, from its commencement to its 
close. General Jackson was always warmly attached to 
Mr. Polk : he looked upon him something in the light of 
a protegk, and took a deep interest in his political ad- 
vancement. His feelings were often manifested in a 
manner that could not be mistaken, and particularly so at 
the presidential election in 1844, when, though trembling 
on the verge of the grave, he appeared at the polls, and 
deposited his ballot in favor of the republican candidates, 
James K. Polk and Georsre M. Dallas. 

Within two .years from the time he entered the oflSce 
of Mr. Grundy, Mr. Polk had made sufficient progress in 
his legal studies to entitle him to an examination., and 
near the close of 1820 he was regularly admitted to the 
bar. He now returned to Maury County, and established 
himself in practice at Columbia, among the companions 
of his boyhood, who had grown up with him to man's es- 
tate, — among those who had known and esteemed him 

'■' RecoUeetioas of the past undoubtedly aided to strengthen the friend- 
ship of General Jacki?on for Mr. Polk. When the former was obliged to 
fly with his mother and brother before the army of Cornwallis, in the war 
of the Revolution, they took refuge in Mecklenburg County, and resided 
for some time with the neighbors and friends of Mr. Polk's father and 
grandfather.— Fpote's Sketches, pp. 199, 476. 



48 . JAlVffiS KNOX POLK. [1820. 

from bis earliest years. His advantages were great, in 
consequence of the connection of his family, by the ties 
of blood or of friendship, with most of the old inhabitants 
and their descendants. His success, therefore, was equal 
to his fondest hopes ; yet this may be attributed far more 
to his personal qualities and conduct, than to any adven- 
titious circumstances. " A republican in habits as well 
as principles, depending for the maintenance of his dig- 
nity upon the esteem of .others, and not upon his own 
assumption, his manners conciliated the general good will. 
The confidence of his friends was justified by the result. 
His thorough academical preparation, his abcurate knowl- 
edge of the law, his» readiness and resources in debate, 
his unwearied application to business, secured him, at 
once, full employment, and in less than a year he was 
already a leading practitioner. Such prompt success in 
a profession where the earh'- stages .are proverbially slow 
and discouraging, falls to the lot of few."* 

As a lawyer he was no more a sciolist, than he had 
been as a student in college. His learning was thorough 
and profound. Perfectly familiar with the lore of his 
profession, and prompt. and accurate in judgment, his cli- 
ents were accustomed to place the utmost reliance on his 
opinions. In the trial of causes he was wary and skil- 
ful, but frank and honorable; he disdained to avail him- 
self of tricks or technicalities, but he never suffered his 
opponent to obtain any advantage through his own care- 
lessness or neglect. In addressing a jury he was always 
animated and impressive in manner, though his language 

* Democratic Review, May, 1838. 



1820.] PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS. 49 

was impassioned or argumentative, as the occasion re- 
quired. He was a close logician, an able reasoner ; and 
in the argument of legal questions, he wielded the club 
of Hercules. His reputation was not confined to Maury 
alone ; it extended to the adjoining counties, and through- 
out the state. Wherever he was known he was respected 
and esteemed for his talents, his courtesy, his kindness 
and generosity of heart, his uprightness and integrity ; 
and this favorable estimation in which he was held, was 
no reluctant acknowledgment, yielded, like the bounty of 
the miser, sparingly and with regret, but a voluntary 
tribute to his worth. 

Mr. Polk remained at the bar, it may be said, up to 
the time of his election as governor of Tennessee, but for 
several years he devoted himself exclusively to the labo- 
rious duties of his calling, constantly adding to his prac- 
tice and his reputation, and annually reaping a rich 
harvest of professional emoluments. Though " there 
w^ere giants in the land," he stood in the front rank 
among his cotemporaries. During some portion of this 
period he was associated with other practitioners in busi- 
ness, and at other times he was alone. Among his law 
partners were Aaron V. Brown, of Pulaski, for some years 
a representative in Congress from the sixth district (Ten- 
nessee) and governor of the state from 1845 to 1847, and 
Gideon J. Pillow, a major-general in the army during the 
war with Mexico. ^ 

Allusion has been already made to the politics of that 
branch of the Polk family who remained in Maryland. 
Those who migrated to North Carolina entertained simi- 
lar sentiments. The father of the late President also 
3 



50 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1823. 

belonged to the JeiFersonlan scliool ; he supported its 
founder in the great contest of 1800, and up to the close 
of his life was the firm and consistent advocate of repub- 
lican principles. The associations of Mr. Polk himself, 
in early life, and while he was reading law, naturally 
inclined him to adopt the same opinions ; but the convic- 
tions of his matured judgment accorded with and ap- 
proved them. 

It is rarely the case, in this country, that the politician 
and the lawyer are not united in one and the same person; 
and Mr. Polk was not an exception to this general rule. 
As soon as he became a voter he attached himself to the 
republican party, and after his admission to the bar, was 
an active participant in the political contests of that day. 
His style and manner as a public speaker were eminently 
calculated to win the favor of a popular assembly, and he 
was often sent for many miles from his home to address 
the meetings of his party friends. His reputation in this 
respect was unrivalled, and it was ultimately conceded by 
men of all parties, that he richly merited the distinction 
generally awarded to him, of being the " Napoleon of the 
Stump" in Tennessee. 

In his political harangues, however, he did not deviate 
from the ruling principle of his life, — to seek for the use- 
ful rather than the ornamental. He charmed his hear- 
ers, not by frothy declamation, but by his plain and prac- 
tical common sense. He captivated and interested them 
by his sincerity, and led them imperceptibly to adopt his 
conclusions, by the simple beauty and cogency of his ar- 
guments, and his pertinent and forcible illustrations. He 
aimed to convince, not merely to produce an impression 



1823.] STYLE AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER. 51 

favorable to the speaker. His elocution was rapid, but 
fluent, his address easy, yet dignified ; his manner ear- 
nest, often enthusiastic. Though naturally reserved in 
his disposition, he occasionally indulged himself in a 
playful sally of wit. But his language was always sin- 
gularly correct and chaste ; he sought for none of the 
flowers of rhetoric, no brilliant figures or high-wrought 
metaphors, but regarded them as equally deceptive and 
unsubstantial with the dew-drops that sparkled at his 
feet, and which disappeared in the first hour of sunshine. 
He expressed himself in the good old idioms of his mother 
tongue, which he found to harmonize so well with his own 
sentiments, and with the honest independence and 
straightforward character of the freemen whom he ad- 
dressed. 

In private life, too, in his social habits, he was fitted 
by nature to win "troops of friends." His daily walk 
and conversation were blameless. He had none of the 
low arts or tricks of the demagogue. He was affable and 
polite ; maintaining the dignity of his position, without 
exhibiting the arrogancy that wounds. He was not, like 
the Parisian, "a democrat when on foot, and an aristo- 
crat when in his carriage." The welfare of his friends 
and neighbors was at all times a matter of importance in 
his estimation ; and whenever it was, proper for him to 
interfere, he interested himself in their commonest con- 
cerns, in the kindest and most sympathizing manner. 
Friendly words and smiles seemed to cost him nothing ; 
they came to his lips unbidden, and lighted up his cheek 
without an effort. 

Possessing all these advantages of mind and disposi- 



52 JAMES KNOX POtK. . [1823. 

tion so necessary to success in an aspirant for political 
honor? ; deep-rooted in the ajffections of a large circle of 
adrai-ring friends ; the pride and the hope of the party to 
which he belonged, he entered public life at an early age. 
His first employment in this character "was that of chief 
ch'rk io the house of representatives of the Tennessee 
legisfjiture ; atid in the summer of 1823, in accordance 
not more with his own desire tfian with the wishes of his 
friends, he took the stump against the former member of 
that body from Maury. A most formidi^le opposition 
■\^;is encountered, but after an animated canvass he se- 
cured his election by a heavy majority. 

He remained in the legislature for two sticcessive 
years, being justly regarded as one of the most talented 
and- promising members. His ability and shrewdness in 
debate, his business tact, his firmness and industr3^ se- 
cured him a high reputation. Most of the measures of 
the then President, Mr. Monroe, received his unqualified 
support and approbation, and he was ardently desirous 
that the successor of the former should be one who had 
no sympathy for the latitudinarian doctrines with refer- 
ence to the constitution which appeared to be gaining 
ground. Animated by this motive, he approved of the 
nomination of Andrew Jackson for the Presidency, made 
by the Tennessee legislature in August, 1822 ; and in 
the autumn of the following year, he contributed by his 
influence and vote to the election of his distinguished 
friend to the Senate of the United States. 

While a member of the General Assembly, Mr. Polk 
succeeded in procuring the passage of a law designed to 
prevent duelling. Though residing in a section of the 



1824.] DUELLING LAW. 53 

Union where tliis mode of vindicating one's honor "when 
assailed has ever been sustained bj the general sense of 
the comimmitj, oftentimes in opposition to positive enact- 
ments, he was never concerned in a duel, during his 
whole life, either as principal or second. This was the 
more i-emarkable,. because of the many stormy epochs in 
his political career. His aversion to duelling did not 
proceed from constitutional timidity ; he was utterly op- 
posed to the practice, from principle ; and though he 
made no uubcsoining parade of his sentiments, he did not 
care to conceal them. . No one ever invaded his personal 
rights without finding him prepared to defend them. 
Never giving an insult himself, he was not' called upon 
to render satisfaction ; and if indignity were offered to 
him, it was resented by the silence that indicated his 
contempt, or the prompt rebuke tliat carried with it 
punishment enough. He could not imbrue his hands un- 
necessarily in the blood of his fellow-man ; but he pos- 
sessed true moral courage — that bravery of soul which 
prompted him to do right. 

Mr. Polk always doubted the power of the general 
government to make improvements in the States ; and his 
doubts ultimately became absolute denials of the right. 
He concurred, however, with Mr. Monroe, in the belief 
that such improvements were desirable, and that it would 
bi! proper to amend the Constitution so as to confer the 
power, although, in the absence of such an amendment, 
they might be carried on with the consent of the States 
in which they were located.* When, therefore, the Pres- 

• Special Message of Mr. Monroe, May 4th, 1822. 



54 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1824. 

ident so far yielded to those of his friends -who had long 
vainly attempted to persuade him to lend his countenance 
to an extensive system of improvements, as to give his 
consent to the act of 1824, authorizing surveys to be 
made of the routes of such roads and canals as he mio-ht 

P 

deem of national importance, Mr. Polk looked upon the 
measure with favor; and in a speech delivered in the 
legislature on the 29th of September, 1824, on the bill to 
incorporate the Murfreesborough Turnpike Company, he 
expressed the opinion that such works ought properly to 
be constructed by the State or the general government, 
and added that, inasmuch as " the question with regard 
to the powers of the government to make internal im- 
provements" had been settled at the previous session of 
Congress, " he thought it likely that the attention of the 
government might be directed to the object of extending 
the military road from New Orleans." 

The views of Mr. Polk on this question of internal im- 
provements subsequently underwent a change ;' and when 
^le saw what great latitude had been taken under the con- 
stitution as it was, and how much danger there was to 
be apprehended from the undue enlargement of the power 
of the general government by the adoption of the proposed 
amendment, he took decided ground against any change, 
and exerted all his influence and authority tO bring back 
the ship of state to her ancient moorings. 

On the 1st day of January, 1824, Mr. Polk was mar- 
ried to Sarah Childress, the daughter of Joel Childress, a 
wealthy and enterprising merchant of Rutherford county, 
Tennessee. Mr. Childress was a native of Campbell 
county, Virginia, and married Elizabeth Whitsitt. 



1824. J MRS. POLK. 55 

Mrs. Polk was well fitted to adorn any station. To 
the charms of a fine person she united intellectual accom- 
plishments of a high order. Sweetness of disposition, 
gracefulness and ease of manner, and beauty of mind, 
were happily blended in her character. A kind mistress, 
a faithful friend, and a devoted wife, — these are her titles 
to esteem ; and they are gems brighter and more resplen- 
dent than ever decorated a queenly brow. Aifable, but 
dignified ; intelligent, but unaffected ; frank and sincere, 
yet never losing sight of the respect due to her position, 
she" won the regard of all who approached her. Her un- 
failing courtesy, and her winning deportment, were re- 
marked by every one who saw her presiding at the White 
House ;* each one of her husband's guests was for the 

* No excuse need be offered for tlie insertion in this place of the follow 
ing well-told anecdote, having reference to an incident that transpired dur- 
ing a visit of the eloquent orator and eminent statesman, Henry -Clay, at 
Washington, in the winter of l&i8, wb'ch originail}' appeared in a public 
iournal : — " Shortly before his departure from the Capital, Mr. Clay at- 
tended a dinner partj', with miny other distinguished gentlemen of both 
political parties, at the President's hou.^e. The party is said to have been 
a very pleasant affair — the viands were choice, the wine was old and spark- 
ling — good feeling abounded, and wit and lively repartee gave zest to the 
occasion, while Mrs. Polk, the winning and accomplished hostess, added 
the finishing grace of her excellent housewifery in the superior management 
of the feast. Mr. Clay was of course honored with a seat near the President's 
ladj", where it became him to put in requisition those insinuating talents 
which he possesses in so eminent a degree, and which are irresistible even 
to his enemies. Mrs. Polk, with her tisual frank and affable manner, was 
extremeh^ courteous to her distinguished guest, on whose good opinion, as 
of all who share the hospitalities of the White House, she did not fail to 
win. 

" ' Madam,' said Mr. Clay, in that blntid manner peculiar to himself, ' I 
must say that in my travels, wherever I have been, in all companies and 
among all parties, I have heard but one opinion of you. All agree in com- 
'uending, in the highest terms, your excellent administration of the domes- 



JAMES KNOX POLK. [1824. 

time being her favorite ; and none who beheld her 
moving in what seemed to be her appropriate sphere, 
will hesitate to join in the hope, that she maj long be 
spared, like the wife of Madison, to perpetuate the 
memory of him whose name she bears, and to witness 
the impartial verdict which history will ere long record, 
in justice to his fame. 

tic aflfairs of the White House. But,' continued he, directing her atten- 
tion to her husband, • as for that young gentleman there, I cannot say as 
much. There is,' said he, ' some littlo difference of opinion in regard to 
the policy of his course.' 

" ' Indeed,' said Mrs. Polk, ' I am glad to hear that 7mj administration 
is popular. And in return for your compliment, I will say that if the coun- 
try should elect a Whig next fall, I know of no one whose elevation would 
please me more than that of Henry Clay.' 

" ' Thank you, thank you. Madam.' 

— " ' And I will assure you of one thing. If you do have occasion to occu- 
py the White House on the fourth of Manh next, it shall be surrendered 
to you in perfect order, from garret to cellar.' 

" ' I'm cei'tain that ' 

" But, the laugh that follo'.ved thi.-t plea-' uit repartee, which lost nothing 
from the manner nor the occasion of it, d •! not permit the guests at the 
lower end of the table to hear the rest of \[\\ Clay's reply. Whether he 
was ' certain that' he should be the tenant of the President's mansion, or 
whether he only said he was ' certain that' whoever did occupy it would 
find it in good condition, like the result of the coming contest for the Presi- 
dency, remains a mystery." 



CHAPTER IV. 

Cbosen a Member of Congress — Repeated Reflections — Opposition to Mr. 
Adams' Administration — The Panama Mis--ion and the American Sys- 
tem — Support of General Jackson and Mr. Van Bxiren — The Tariff Ques- 
tion — Internal Improvements — The Pension Laws — United States Bank — 
Independent Treasury. 

In the spring of 1825, Mr. Polk offered himself to the 
electors of the sixth or Duck river district, in which he 
resided, as their candidate for Congress. At this time 
the subject of internal improvements was attracting unu- 
sual attention in Tennessee, owing, probably, to the 
examinations recently made by the Board of Engineers, 
under the act of 1824, of tlie country between the Poto- 
mac and Ohio rivers. Indeed, it was the only political 
C|uestion of importance, — excepc the manner in which 
General Jackson, whom Mr. Polk had ardently supported, 
had been defrauded, as was alleged by his friends, of the 
presidency, — that was then agitated or discussed ; for, 
although there had been several candidates voted for at 
the late presidental election, they all clainaed to belong 
to the same party. 

The views of Mr. Polk, at this period, as has been 
intimated, were at least friendly, if not entirely favorable, 
to the construction of works of internal improvement by 
the national government. He had doubts and misgivings ; 
but in accordance with what • appeared to be the prevail- 



58 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39, 

ing sentiment throughout the Union, he felt inclined to 
yield them. In a circular letter addressed to his con- 
stituents, on the- 10th day of Maj, 1825, he said : " How 
far the general government has power to make internal 
improvements, has been a question of some difficulty in 
the deliberations of Congress. It has been a question 
long and ably controverted by our wisest statesmen. It 
seems, however, to have been lately settled by the three 
great departments of the government in favor of the 
exercise of such a power. * * * The expediency 
of making internal improvements is unquestioned ; it is 
only on the question of power that doubt has arisen. 
They are calculated to promote the agricultural, com- 
mercial, and manufacturing interests of the country ; 
they add to the wealth, prosperity, and convenience of 
the great body of the people, by.diminishing the expenses, 
and improving the fiicilities for the transportation of our 
surplus products to market, and furnisliing an easy and 
cheap return of those necessari.es required for our con- 
sumption. A judicious system of internal improvements, 
withm the powers delegated V) the general government, 
I therefore approve." 

It is very evident from the general tenor of these extracts, 
and from the cautious mode of expression made use of by 
the writer, that he feared lest the powers of the general 
government should be unduly enlarged by a latitudina- 
rian construction of the federal constitution ; and as & 
thorough-going and consistent states'-rights man, he had 
a natural dread s-of conceding anything by way of impli- 
cation. It is one of the faults, among the numberless 
blessings, of a written constitution, that those who orig- 



1825-39. J VIEWS ON internal improvements. 59 

inate it, and for whose protection it is, or should bo 
framed, are sometimes lulled into a false security. 
Having thrown every conceivable safeguard around it, 
they are too apt to fancy themselves perfectly protected 
against the assaults of open or secret enemies. The 
greatest wrong a people can do, is to sleep on their rights, 
and by so doing, afibrd crafty and designing men the 
opportunity, but too frequently seized with avidity, of 
blinding and betraying them. The exercise of poAVcr by 
delegated agents is in its nature aristocratic, and like all 
aristocracies, seeks to increase its influence, and to per- 
petuate its existence. Nothing can be safely relied on 
to counteract these natural tendencies, but the closest 
care and scrutiny on the part of the principals who have 
delegated the power. 

In a government constituted like ours, encroachments 
on the rights of the states by the national authorities, are 
always to be feared. Freemen as we are, each man indi- 
vidually a sovereign, proud of our independence, and of 
the privileges and immunities that have been handed 
down to us by our forefathers, we are too pron: to forget 
that " eternal vigilance is the price of liberty;" that the 
first great duty which we owe to our country, to our- 
selves and our posterity, is to see that the purity of the 
government is maintained. Direct attempts to subvert 
the principles of the constitution — to overawe the free 
and full expression of the popular will ; open and undis- 
guised acts of tyranny and injustice, are rarely known 
among us, because their bearing is at once perceived and 
understood, and they are sure to be immediately resisted 
and condemned. Designing and ambitious men, however 



60 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

unprincipled, rarely, if ever, resort to overt acts for the 
accomplishment of their deep-laid schemes. On the 
contrary, adopting the motto of Talleyrand, that " lan- 
guage is given to man to conceal his thoughts," their 
chief dependence is on their ability to hide their plans, 
and to practice successful deception. Their whole sys- 
tem of tactics is indirect in its operations ; they do 
nothing directly, — they work secretly and in the dark. 
They never aim to secure an important position by a 
single bold stroke ; everything is effected by a series of 
slow but sure advances. If they are able to bring about 
the adoption of a single measure, without attracting at- 
tention to the secret motives that originated it, another 
of the sam, ruroort, but a little stronger in its character, 
is certain to be ficnosed. These two secured, their 
authors are encouraged cc irrosecute their measures, in a 
regular gradation, till they reacii the final result sought 
to be attained. That once accomplished, the victims 
may struggle vainly and ineflfectually in the toils so cun- 
ningly devised to entrap them. 

The history of the American government, and of 
its legislation in particular, abounds in illustrations 
that will confirm and enforce the correctness of these 
views. Although Mr. Polk, like many other young men 
belonging to the republican party, was disposed, in 1825, 
to adopt the impression that the authority to construct 
works of internal improvement was comprehended in the 
, money-power conferred by the Constitution, further re. 
flection and experience convinced him of his error. * 

* Hsvrbor and River Veto, August 3, 1846 ; Internal Improvement Mes- 
sage, December 15, 1847. 



1825-39. j CHOSEN A MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 61 

At the August election in 1825, lie -was chosen a mem- 
ber of Congress, by a most flattering vote. That he dis- 
charged his duties to the entire satisfaction of those 
whom he represented, is evidenced by the fact, that he 
was repeatedly returned by the same constituency, for 
fourteen years in succession, from 1825 to 1839. In the 
latter year he voluntarily withdrew from another contest, 
in. which his success was not even questionable, in order 
to become a candidate for the office of governor of his / 
adopted State. * ' 

Mr. Polk first took his seat in the House of Represent- 
atives, as a member of the 19th Congress, in December, 
1825 ; being, with one or two exceptions, the youngest _. 
member of that body. The same habits of laborious ap-v' 
plication which had previously characterized him, were 
now displayed on the floor of the House and in the com- 
mittee-room. He w^as punctual and prompt in the per- 
formance of every duty, and firm and zealous in the 
maintenance and advocacy of his opinions. He spoke 
frequently, but was invariably listened to with deference 
and respect. He was always courteous in debate ; his 
speeches had nothing declamatory about tliem, — they . 
were always to the point, always clear and forcible. So 
faithful and exemplary w^as he in his attendance upon 
the sessions of Congress, that it is said he never missed 
a division while occupying a seat on the floor of the 
House, and was not absent from the daily sittings for a 
single day, except on one occasion, on account of indis- 
position. Such punctuality is rarely witnessed in a leg- 
islator, and it deserves to be repaembered. 

John Quincy Adams had scarcely seated himself in the 



62 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

chair of state, when he discovered that his position was 
envii'oned with difficulties and embarrassments. As a 
member of Mr. Monroe's cabinet, he had advocated a lib- 
eral policy in regard to internal improvements, and a 
liigh protective tariff. In his inaugural address, he took 
bolder and more decided ground than he had hitherto 
done, and advanced views and doctrines utterly at vari- 
ance with those cherished bj the old republican partj^, 
and trenching^ clost;!j on the federal platform of 1800. 
The friends of General Jackson, Mr. Crawford, Mr. 
Calhoun, and a portion of those who had supported Mr. 
Clay, immediately manifested a disposition vigorously 
to oppose the new administration, the tendency of which, 
as they maintained, was toward federalism and consolida- 
tion. This feeling was strengthened, when they discovered 
in the appointments to office, and in the manner in which 
all the important committees of the 19 th Congress were 
constituted by the Speaker, a friend of Mr. Adams, the 
certain indications of an intention to build up a party 
with the President at its head, and to proscribe those 
who were supposed to be unfriendly to "his reelection. 
The measures of policy, too, which he recommended, 
were not approved by the great majority of the repub- 
lican friends of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. 

Immediately after the organization of the two houses 
of .Congress, in December, 1825, the peculiar circum- 
stances attendino; the election of Mr. Adams, throuo-h the 
influence and aid of Mr. Clay, were brought up in review. 
Amendments to the constitution were proposed in the 
Senate by Mr. Benton, of Missouri, providing for a direct 
vote by the people, in districts, for president, and dis- 



1825-39. J THE PANAMA MISSION. 63 

pensing with the electoral colleges ; and by Mr. McDuf- 
fie, of South Carolina, in the House, authorizing the 
electors to be chosen by districts, and containing pro- 
visions which would prevent the choice of president, in 
future, from devolving on the House of Representatives. 
Mr^ Polk made his debut as a speaker on this question, 
and advocated the amendment of the constitution, in such 
a manner as to give the choice of president and vice-pres^ 
idunt directly to the people. As one of the frieiids of 
General Jackson, lie cntMcd warmly into the subject, and 
his speech Ava§ characterized by what was with him an 
unusual deoi-re'e of animation in addressinor a deliberative 
body. It was also distinguished for its clearness and 
force, its copiousness of research, and the cogency of its 
arguments. Henceforth the way was clear for him. 
Among his associates were many of the ablest men in the 
nation, but an honorable position among them was cheer- 
fully assigned to him. 

Among the prominent recommendations of Mr. Adams, 
which Mr. Polk, with the other opponents of the adminis- 
tration, zealously resisted, Avere the Panama Mission, and 
that class of measures, the chief features of which were 
an extensive system of internal improvements and a high 
protective tariff, usually comprehended under the general 
designation of " the American System." 

The debate in the House of Representatives on the 
Panama Mission, as the reader will not need to be re- 
minded, arose upon the bill making the required appro- 
priation for the purposes of the mission. Mr. A-^^^^ms 
had appointed commissioners to attend a congress pro- 
posed to be held at Panama, by delegates appointed by 



64 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

the Spanish American states, who had in fact achieved 
.their independence, though still nominally at war with 
the mother country. The object of this meeting was to 
form an alliance, defensive if not offensive, between the 
North and South American republics. Mr. Van Buren, 
Mr. Benton, and other leading republicans, in the Seeate, 
opposed the confirmation of the appointments with great 
ability, but they were unsuccessful. They endorsed, to 
the fullest extent, the declaration of Mr. Monroe, " that 
the American continents, by the free and independent 
condition which they have assumed and maintain, are 
henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future col- 
onization by any European powers ;"* and they approved 
the authoritative announcement made by Mr. Rush to 
Mr. Canning, in 1823, that the United States would view 
any attempt on the part of France and the Continental 
Alliance to resubjugate the Spanish American states, 
" as a transcendent act of national injustice, and indica- 
tive of progressive and alarming ambition. "f 

But, it was contended, this proposition to appoint com- 
missioners, and the conclusion of any league or alliance 
as anticipated, would be a departure from the established 
policy of the government ; it would have the inevitable 
tendency to involve the United States in war witli 
Spain, and eventually with other European powers having 
possessions in America that might be disposed to revolt ; 
and they should content themselves with protesting 
against any future colonization. In these views Mr. 



* Annual Message of Mr. Monroe, December 2, 1823. 
t Rush's Residence at the Court of Loudon, p. 430. 



1825-39.J HIS RESOLUTIONS AND SPEECH. 65 

Polk concurred ; and he subsequently had occasion offi- 
cially to endorse the declaration made by Mr. Monroe.* 
The whole question was freely discussed in the House, 
but a new point was here raised. It was insisted by the 
friends of the administration, as was contended by the 
federal party during the discussions on Jay's treaty, that 
the treaty making power, and the management of the for- 
eign relations of the government, belonged exclusively to 
the President and Senate ; and that the House of Rep- 
resentatives had no constitutional nglit to deliberate upon, 
much less to withhold the appropriations necessary to carry 
a treaty into effect, or what might be required for a spe- 
cial mission of this character. This ^startling doctrine 
was denounced in unmeasured terms by Mr. Polk and 
those members who concurred with him in sentiment. 
He was quite prominent in the debates, and offered a 
series of resolutions on the subject, one of which was a 
reproduction of the doctrines of the republican party of 
1798 in regard to the power of the House to refuse ap- 
propriations, and the other condemning the appointment 
of commissioners to attend the Congress at Panama. 
These resolutions are here inserted : — 

" Resolved, That it is the constitutional right and duty of 
the House of Representatives, when called upon for appro- 
priations to defray the expenses of foreign missions, to de- 
liberate on the expediency or inexpediency of such missions, 
and to determine and act thereon, as in their judgment may 
seem most conducive to the public good. 

♦* Resolved, That it is the sense of this House, that the 

* Annual Message, December 2, 1845. 



66 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

sending of ministers, on the part of the United States, to 
take part in the dehberations of the Congress of South 
American nations, at Panama, would be a total departure 
from the uniform course of policy pursued by this govern- 
ment, from the adoption of the Federal Constitution to the 
present period ; and might, and in all probability would, 
have a tendency to involve the nation in ' entangling alliances,^ 
and endanger the neutrality and relations of amity arid 
peace, which at present happily subsist between the United 
States and the belligerent powers — old Spain and the south- 
ern repubUcs of this continent. "^'^ 

Mr. Polk defended his resolutions, and enforced his 
views upon the question, in an able and argumentative 
speech. He maintained " that the proposed mission 
to Panama was without a precedent in our history; 
Avas novel in its character, and, in his judgment, danger- 
ous to the best interests of the country." "We are 
about to depart," he added, " from our ancient and plain 
republican simplicity, and to become a great and splendid 
government ; new projects are set on foot : we are called 
upon by the President to change the whole policy of the 
country, as adopted by our fathers, and so happily pur- 
sued by their posterity down to the present period. He 
called on gentlemen, before they abandoned the present 
safe policy of the country, to ponder well what they are 
about to do." " The sound and sober judgment of the 
people of the United States," he further contended, 
" had not been brought up to the conclusion that we 
could in any event make comrnon cause Avith the repub- 

* Congressional Debates, vol. ii., p. 2166. 



1825-39.] GENERAL REVIEW OF H.S COURSE. 67 

lies of the South, or involve ourselves in the calamities of 
war in their behalf: all our sympathies, all our good 
feelings, were with them : we wished them success : but 
self-preservation is the first law of nature and of nations : 
we were, then, as he hoped, we still were, unprepared to 
depart from our settled policy."* 

" From this time, Mr. Polk's history," says an elo- 
quent review of his course in Congress, "was insepar- 
ably mterwoven with that of the House. He is promi- 
nently connected with every important question; and 
_upon every one, as by an unerring instinct of republican- 
ism, took the soundest and boldest ground. From his 
entrance into public life, his adherence to the cardinal 
pnnciples of the democratic creed has been singularly 
steadfast. During the whole period of GeneralJackson's 
administration, as long as he retained a seat on the floor, 
he was one of its leading supporters, and at times, and on 
certain questions of paramount importance, its chief reli- 
ance. In the hour of trial he was never found wanting, 
or from his post. In December, 1827, tAvo years after 
his entrance into the House, Mr. Polk was placed on the 
important Committee of Foreign Affairs, and some time 
•after was appointed, in addition, chairman of the select 
committee to which was referred that portion of the 
President's message calling the attention of Congress to 
the probable accumulation of a surplus in the treasury, 
after the anticipated extinguishment of the national debt! 
As the head of this committee, he made a lucid report, 
replete with the soundest doctrines, ably enforced, deny- 

• Congressional Debates, vol. ii., pp. 2475, 2489. 



68 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

ing the constitutional power of Congress to collect from 
the people, for distribution, a surplus beyond the -wants 
of the government, and maintaining that the revenue 
should be reduced to the exigencies of the public service. 
" The session of 1830 will always be distinguished b}'' 
the death-blow which was then given to the unconstitu- 
tional system of internal improvements by the general 
government. We have ever regarded the Maysville road 
veto as second in importance to none of the acts of Gen- 
eral Jackson's energetic administration. It lopped off 
one of the worst branches of the miscalled ' American 
system.' Mr. Polk had assailed the bill before its pas- 
sage with almost solitary energy ; and one of his speech- 
es,* in which he discusses the general policy of the 
' American system ' in its triple aspect of high prices for 
the pubUc lands — to check agricultural emigration to the 
West, and foster the creation of a manufacturing popula- 
tion — of high duties or taxes for protection, and excessive 
revenue — and of internal improvements, to spend this 
revenue in corrupting the country with its own money, — 
shouhl be perused by every one who wishes to arrive at 
sound views upon a question which has so much agitated 
the public mind. When the bill was returned by the 
President unsigned, a storm arose in the House, in the 
midst of which the veto was attacked by a torrent of pas- 
sionate declamation, mixed with no small share of per- 
sonal abuse. To a member from Ohio, whose observa- 
tions partook of tlie latter character, Mr, Polk replied in 
an energetic improvisation, vindicating the patriotic 

* On the Buffalo and New-Orleans road bill. 



1825-39.] UNITED STATES BANK. 69 

resolution of the Chief Magistrate. The friends of State 
rights in the House rallied manfully upon the veto. The 
result was that the bill Avas rejected, and countless ' log- 
rolling ' projects for the expenditure of many millions of 
the public treasure, which awaited the decision, perished 
in embryo. 

*' In December, 1832, he was transferred to the Com- 
mittee of Way^s and Means, with which his connection 
has been so distinguished. At that session the Direct- 
ors of the Bank of the United States were summoned to 
Washington, and examined upon oath, before the com- 
mittee just named. A division of opinion resulted in the 
presentation of two reports. That of the majority, 
which admitted that the Bank had exceeded its lawful 
powers, by interfering with the plan of the Government, 
to pay off the three per cent, stock, was tame, and unac- 
companied by pertinent facts, or elucidating details. 
jNIr, Polk, in behalf of the minority, made a detailed re- 
port, communicating all the material circumstances, and 
presenting conclusions utterly adverse to the institution 
which had been the subject of inquiiy. This arrayed 
against him the whole bank power, which he was made 
to feel in a quarter Avhere he had everything at stake, 
for upon his return to his district, he found the most 
formidable opposition mustered against him- for his course 
upon this question. The friends of the United States 
Bank held a meeting at Nashville to denounce his report. 
The most unscrupulous misrepresentations were resorted 
to, in order to prove that he had destroyed the credit of 
the West, by proclaiming that his countrymen were un- 
worthy of mercantile confidence. The result, however, 



70 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

was, that after a violent contest, Mr, Polk was reelected 
by a majority of more than three thousand. Fortunately 
for the stability of our institutions, the panics which 
' frighten cities from their propriety,' do not sweep with 
the same desolating force over the scattered dwellings of 
the country. 

" In September, 1833, the President, indignant at the 
open defiance of law by the Bank of the United States, 
and the unblushing corruption which it practiced, deter- 
mined upon the bold and salutary measure of the removal 
of the deposits, Avhich was effected in the following month. 
The act produced much excitement throughout the coun- 
try, and it was foreseen tliat a great and doubtful con- 
flict was about to ensue. At such a crisis it became im- 
portant to have at the head of the Committee of Ways 
and Means, a man of courage to meet, and firmness to 
sustain, the formidable shock. Such a man Avas found 
in Mr. Polk, and he proved himself equal to the occasion. 
Congress met, and the conflict proved even fiercer than 
had been anticipated. Tlie cause of the Bank was sup- 
ported in the House by such men as Mr. McDufiic, 
Adams and Binney, not to mention a host of other names. 
It is instructive to look back in calmer times, to the 
i-eijrn of terror, knoAvn as the Panic Session. The Bank 
with the wholc^ commerce of the country at its feet, al- 
ternately torturing and easing its miserable pensioners as 
they increased or relaxed their cries of financial agony ; 
public meetings held in every city Avith scarcely the in- 
termission of a day, denouncing the President as a ty- 
rant, and the enemy of his country ; deputations flocking 
from the towns to extort from him a reluctant subuiis- 



1825-39.] THE PANIC SESSION. 71 

sion ; Whig orators traversing tlic country, and stimu- 
lating the passions of excited multitudes, Avithout respect 
even to the sanctity of the Sabbath ; inflammatory me- 
morials poured into Congress from every quarter ; the 
Senate almost decreeing itself into a state of perman-.nt 
insurrection, and proclaiming that a revolution had al- 
ready begun ; all the business of legislation in both wings 
of the capitol postponed to that of agitation and panic ; 
an extrajudicial and branding sentence pronounced upon 
the chief magistrate of the nation, in violation of usage 
and of the constitution— these features present but°a 
faint picture of the alarm and confusion wjiich prevailed. 
Consternation had almost seized upon the Republican 
ranks, thinned by desertion and harassed by distracting 
doubts and fears. But the stern resolve of him whose 
iron arm guided the helm of state, conducted the perilous 
conflict to a successful issue. Nor should we forget the 
eminent services of the individual who presided over the 
Committee of Ways and Means. His coolness, prompt- 
itude, and abundant resources, were never at fault. His 
opening speech in vindication of the President's measure, 
contains all the material facts and reasons on the repub- 
lican side of the question, enforced with much power, and 
^illustrated by gi^eat research. To this speech almost 
every member of the opposition, who spoke upon the 
question, attempted to reply, but the arguments which 
Its author brought forward to establish the power of the 
President under the constitution, as elucidated by cotem- 
poraneous or early exposition, to do the act which had 
been so boldly denounced as a high-handed and tyran- 
nical usurpation, could neither be refuted nor weakened. 



72 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

Mr. McDuffie, the distinguished leader of the opposition 
in this" eventful conflict, bore testimony, in his concluding 
remarks, to the boldness and manliness with which Mr. 
Polk had assumed the only position which could be ju- 
diciously taken. The financial portion of his speech, and 
that in which he exposed the glaring misdeeds of the 
Bank, were no less efficient. When Mr. McDuffie had 
concluded the remarks to Avhich we have alluded, a 
member from Virginia, [Mr. Mason J after a few perti- 
nent observations, demanded the previous question. A 
more intense excitement was never felt in Congress than 
at this thrilling moment. The two parties looked at 
each other for a space, in sullen silence, like two armies 
on the eve of a deadly conflict. The motion of Mr. 
Mason prevailed, the debate was arrested, and the di- 
vision proved a triumphant victory for the republican 
cause. The l^ank then gave up the contest in de- 
spair. J 

" The position of the Chairman of the Committee of 
Waj's and Means, at all times a most arduous and re- : 

sponsible one, was doubly so at this session, whicli will 
form an epoch in the political annals of the country. Mr. 
Polk occupied it for the first time. From its organiza- 
tion and the nature of its duties, this committee must be 
at all times the chief organ of every administration in 
the House. At this session it was for obvious reasons 
peculiarly so. To attack it, then, Avas to strike at the 
government ; to embarrass its action was to thwart the 
course of the Administration. Extraordinary and indis- 
criminate opposition was accordingly made to all the ap- 
propriation bills. It was avowed in debate, that it Avas 



1825-39.] THE PANIC SESSION. 78 

■witliin the scope of legitimate opposition to withhold even 
the ordinary supplies until the deposits were restored to 
the Bank of the United States : that this restitution 
must be made, or revolution ensue. The Bank must tri- 
umph, or the wheels of government be arrested. The 
people should never forget the perils of a contest in which 
they were almost constrained to succumb. The recollec- 
tion should warn them not to build up again a power in 
the State of such formidable faculties. The tactics which 
we have just described, threw great additional labor upon 
the committee, and particr.larly upon its chairman. 
Fully apprised of the difficulti^^s he had to encounter, he 
maintained his post with sleepless vigilance and untiring 
activity. He was always ready to give the House ample 
explanation upon every item, however minute, of the va- 
rious appropriations. He was ever prompt to meet any^ 
objections which might be started, and of quick sagacity 
to detect the artifices to which factious disingenuousness 
is prone to resort. All the measures of the Committee, 
including those of paramou^it importance, relating to the 
Bank and the deposits, Avere carried in spite of the most 
immitigable opposition."* 

The same cordial and unhesitating support which Mr. 

. Polk gave to the administration of General Jackson, he 
also yielded to that of Mr. Van Buren. Although, on 
account of his position as the Speaker of the House, he 
took no part in the discussions, he approved of all the 
prominent measures recommended by Mr. Van Buren, 

^ including the cession of the public lands to the states, 

* Democratic Review, May, 1838. 

4 



74 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

the preemption law, and the independent treasury, and 
exerted his influence to secure their adoption. 

In regard to the tariff question, and the kindred meas- 
ure of distribution for many years inseparably connected 
with it, his views were repeatedly expressed. In his re- 
port as chairman of the select committee on the surplus 
in the treasury, made at the session of 1827-8, he de- 
clared his preferences for a revenue tariff ; and the opin- 
ion thus advanced was never changed. The revenue 
tariff which he favored was no mere will-o'-the-wisp, like 
Pitt's " treasury wonder," the sinking fund — but a 
practical, substantial reality ; something which promised 
what it was intended to perform, and performed what it 
promised. To a tariff for protection merely, he was ut- 
terly opposed. 

The encouragement of domestic production and home 
manufactures, has not only taxed the ingenuity of the 
law-makers of this country to the utmost ; but it has 
also been the theme upon which fledgeling politicians 
and youthful legislators havp expended a great deal of 
eloquence. A theory, correct and praiseworthy in the 
abstract, has been twisted and distorted into so many, 
and so various shapes, that it has now become almost 
impossible to recognize it in the unnatural garb which it 
has been forced to assume. The idea of preserving the 
integrity of our government, and of encouraging the 
formation of feelings and habits of self-reliance, so neces- 
sary in order to command the respect of foreign nations, 
by rendering our citizens independent of them for all ne- 
cessary articles of consuqjption, was certainly a com- 
mendable one. Confined to its legitimate sphere, when 



1825-39.] A REVENUE TARIFF. 75 

carried into practical effect, it could not have failed to 
advance the prosperity of the country, and, at the same 
time, add to the national strength and security. Its ap- 
propriate province was one of encouragement solely, and 
not of favoritism. 

It Avas idle to anticipate any permanent beneficial 
results from an unwise interference with the natural and 
unchangeable laws of production, demand, and supply. 
A temporary hiflation could be produced, by forcing 
business and trade into a different chaimel from that into 
which they ordinarily and properly flowed, but it was 
impossible to realize any substantial good from disregard- 
ing the instincts which they were inclined, through a 
law of their nature, to obey. The foundation of the 
tariff system in the United States, was Avisely and pru- 
dently laid, under the auspices of the founders and lead- 
ers of the republican party. The causes which led to 
the enactment of the first law, providing for the impo- 
sition of duties on foreign importations, are obvious. At 
the time the Union was formed, both the government 
and the people were involved in debt. It was necessary 
that a revenue should be raised to defray the annual ex- 
penses, and discharge the liabilities of the nation. 

No other source presented itself, that promised to be 
available, except a tariff on imports. This appeared to 
be the most feasible plan, and was therefore adopted. 
The sequel showed most clearly, that no better method 
could have been devised. The establishment of a reve- 
nue tariff system, in the strict sense of the word, while 
it yielded ample means for carrying on the operations of 
government, also afforded, incidentally, a proper degree 



76 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

of encouragement to home industiy and domestic manu- 
factures. The subsequent development of our own natu- 
ral resources, and the change in our condition, from a 
state of dependence on foreign countries for the necessi- 
ties of life, to one of comparative independence, led to 
modifications and alterations in the system ; which, for 
a long period of time, however, were made in conformity 
to the great principle on which the system was originally 
based. So long as the revenue idea was rigidly main- 
tained, the country was prosperous, and no particular 
section was unduly favored ; but Avhen a new principle 
was introduced into the system, and protection became 
the controlling feature, instead of being secondary and 
subordinate to that of revenue, a different state of things 
was produced. 

Mr. Polk approved of the act of 1816. He believed 
that the manufactures of the United States were in a 
prosperous condition under that act, " and for eight 
years intervening between the years 1816 and 1824 ; 
and also that the act of 1816 afforded them ample inci- 
dental protection."* When he entered Congress, he 
found the act of 1821 in force. The main object of this 
law was to afford additional protection to the iron manu- 
factures of Pennsylvania, though other features far more 
objectionable, were embraced in it. Although Mr. Polk 
Avould have been willing to encourage the iron interest, 
then in its infancy, and struggling amid numerous em- 
barrassments, so far as was consistent with a due regard 



* Speech on the Bill reported by the Committee of Ways and Means at 
the Session of 1832-33.— Congressional Debates, vol. ix., p. 1170. 



1825-39.] DIFFERENT ACTS. 77 

for the other interests of the country, he did not approve 
of this law. In 1827, a powerful rally was made by 
the friends of a high protective tariff in the Northern and 
Eastern States ; the producers of wool, hemp, corn, and 
rye, in the Middle and Western States ; and the iron 
manufacturers in Pennsylvania. At the first session of 
the 20th Congress, a bill was reported from the Commit- 
tee on Manufactures, avowedly for protection. The 
struggle in regard to the details of the act was confined 
mainly to the different interests united in support of the 
measure, Avhose views were constantly clashing. Mr. 
Polk, and the members from the Southern States gen- 
erally, resisted the passage of the 'bill at every step ; but 
when he discovered any attempt on the part of the friends 
of Mr. Adams, Aviiich was frequently the case, to make 
political capital out of the measure, to the prejudice of 
General Jackson, upon whom the opponents of the ad- 
ministration had united as their candidate for the presi- 
dency, he macfe every exertion to prevent such a result. 

The act of 1828, emphatically called " the bill of 
abominations," became a law, in opposition to the wishes 
and the vote of Mr. Polk. That it was an unwise and 
unjust measure, was the general verdict of the country ; 
and one of its principal authors and supporters — one who 
did not lightly change an opinion — subsequently admitted, 
that he had committed " a great error" in advocating and 
voting for it.* 

In 1832, Mr. Polk voted for the act of that year 
modifying some of the most objectionable provisions of 

* Remarks of Silas Wright iu the U. S. Senate, August 27th, 1842. 



78 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39. 

the law of 1828. But he was disposed to go much fur- 
ther than this. The evil that had been done, in his opin- 
ion, was not yet remedied. Though he did not favor in 
the least the nullification doctrines put forth in South 
Carolina, but approved of the noble and determined stand 
taken by General Jackson, and supported the force bill 
and other measures of like character ; he felt that there 
was grave cause for blame. He therefore aided, as far 
as was in his power, to remove the grievances which had 
given rise to so many well-founded complaints. He gave 
his assent to the bill reported by the Committee of Ways 
and Means, at the session of 1832-33, making further 
reductions in the duties imposed by the law of 1832. 
This bill eventually gave place to the Compromise Act, 
which surrendered the principle of protection except as an 
incidental result, and for which Mr. Polk voted. With 
some of the details of this law he was not entirely satis- 
fied, and at the ensuing session of Congress he favored 
an effort then made to modify it in some p^-ticulars ; but 
its general features and principles he did not desire to 
disturb. He thought that " when the act was passed, 
every interest in the country stood pledged, in the most 
solemn manner, to adhere to and abide by it," and he 
hoped that " this agitated and disturbing subject was put 
at rest for a long term of years, if not forever."* 

His wishes were not realized. When the reduction 
proposed by the compromise act reached its minimum, 
the revenue was found inadequate to meet the expenses 
of the government, and to discharge the public liabilities. 

* Letter to the people of Tennessee, May 26th, 1843. 



1825-39. J COMPROMISE ACT. 79 

The Whig party being now in power, under the leader- 
ship of JVl-r. Clay, a high protective tariff law was passed, 
— a law equally objectionable in many respects with that 
of 1828, and like that, too, unequivocally condemned by 
the American people. Mr. Polk was not in Congress 
when the act of 1842 was passed ; but he took an early 
occasion to make known his opposition to the law, in a 
letter addressed to the people of Tennessee, on the 2Gth of 
May, 1843, and during the gubernatorial canvass of that 
year, he expressed his sentiments ably and explicitly, in 
an eloquent speech to the people of Madison and the ad- 
joining counties, delivered at Jackson, on the 3d day of 
April. From a synopsis o'f this speech, the annexed ex- 
tracts are taken : — 

" He took other \-iews, briefly presented, of the subject, 
nnd proceeded to the discussion of the Protective Tariff act 
passed by the last Congress. He shoAved that it Avas a highly 
protective tariff, and not one for revenue. He showed that 
by the Compromise Tariff of 1833, the tax on no imported 
article was to exceed 20 per cent, upon its value after the 30th 
of June, 1842. No higher duty than 20 per cent, was im- 
posed on any article after the 30th of June, 1842, until the 
30th of August* 1842, on which latter day the present Tariff 
law was passed by a Wliig Congress. The Whig Congress 
laid violent hands on the Compromise Act of 1833, and 
broke it up." 

" It was clear, therefore, that the late tariff act was not a 
revenue measure. It had raised the rates of duty so high 
as to shut out imports, and consequently to cut oft' and dimin- 
ish revenue." 

"Judging from the amount of revenue received at the 



80 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-39 

Treasury, under the operations of the present Tariff act, foi 
the last quarter of 1842, as ah-eady shown, ifr will not produce 
annually lialf the amount of revenue which would have been 
produced by the lower rates of the Compromise act, had that 
act been left undisturbed." 

" He was opposed to. direct taxes, and to prohibitory and 
protective duties, and in favor of such moderate duties as 
would not cut oft' importation. In other words, he was in favor 
of reducing tiie duties to the rates of tlie compromise act, 
where the Whig- Congress found them on the 30th of June, 
1842." 

" The South, and he with them, had voted for the act of 
1832, because it was a reduction of the rates of the act of 
1828, thou'gh by no means so low as he would have desired 
it to be ; still it was the greatest reduction which could be 
attained at the time of its passage." 

•" Distribution and a Protective Tariff— measures whicli I 
consider ruinous to the interests of the country, and especially 
to the interests of the planting states — 1 have steadily and at 
all times opposed." 

When Mr. Polk became a candidate for the presidency, 
his opinions and views on the tarifl" question were much 
inquired after, and were frequently misrepresented. In 
order to prevent further misapprehension, he addressed 
the following letter to Judge Kane of Philadelphia, in re- 
ply to one previously received from that gentleman, 
making inquiries with reference to his sentiments :— 

Coi>rMBiA, Tenne.-=seo, .Tune 19th, 1844. 

Dear Sir : — I have received recently several letters in 
reference to my opinions on the subject of the tariff, and 
among others yours of the 30th ultimo. My opinions on 



I 



1825-39. J THE KANE LETTER. 81 

this subject have been often given to the public. They 
are to be found in my public acts, and in the public dis- 
cussions in which I have participated. 

I am in favor of a tariff for revenue, such a one as will 
yield a suflScient amount to the treasury to defray the 
expenses of the government economically administered. 
In adjusting the details of a revenue tariff, I have hereto- 
fore sanctioned such moderate discriminating duties, as 
would produce the amount of revenue needed, and at 
the same time afford reasonable incidental protection to 
our home industry. I am opposed to {f tariff for protec- 
tion merely, and not for revenue. 

Acting upon these general principles, it is well known 
that I gave my support to the poUcy of Gen. Jackson's 
administration on this subject. I voted against the tariff 
act of 1828. I voted for the act of 1832, which contained 
modifioatluns of some of the objectionable provisions of 
the act of 1828. As a' member of the Committee of 
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, I gave 
my assent to a bill reported by that Committee in Decem- 
ber, 1832, making further modifications of the act of 
1828, and making also discriminations in the imposition 
of the duties which it proposed. The bill did not pass, 
but was superseded by the bill commonly called the Com- 
promise bill, for which I voted. . 

In my judgment, it is the duty of the government to 
extend, as far as it may be practicable to do so, by its 
revenue laws and all other means within its power, fair 
and just protection to all the great interests of the whole 
Union, embracing agriculture, manufactures, the mechanic 
arts, commerce and navigation. I heartily approve the 
4* 



82 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1825-89. 

resolutions upon this subject, passed by the Democratic 
National Convention, lately assembled at Baltimore. 
I am, with great respect, 

Dear sir, your ob't serv't, 

James K. Polk. 

John E. Kane, Esq., Pliiladelphia. 



This letter indicates what were the sentiments of its 
author on the subject to which it related, as clearty and 
distinctly as lan^age could express them. He was in 
favor of a tariff yielding sufficient revenue to support the 
government economically administered, and which should 
afford, at the same time, incidental protection to all the 
various interests of the country. He was willing to en- 
courage manufactures to this extent, but he was not dis- 
posed to favor them, to the injury of other interests. A 
high protective system he could not countenance. He 
saw how it had operated in England, where a powerful 
aristocracy were maintained in luxury and idleness, and 
a corrupt and expensive government supported, out of 
the hard-earned substance of the yeoman, the laborer, and 
the operative ; and history taught him,' that whenever 
and wherever it had been adopted, it had brought the 
poorer classes to abject penury and want, and reduced 
them to a condition of slavish dependence on the wealthy 
and more favored classes. 

Entertaining such views, he cordially approved of the 
revenue tariff of 1846. All its main features harmonized 
with his own convictions ; he did not consider it perfect- 
in all its parts, but as a whole it was satisfactory to him ; 



1825-39.1 UNITED STATES BANK. 83 

and the bill received his signature, as it met with his 
approbation. 

Whenever and howsoever any of the objectionable 
features of the " American System," were brought for- 
ward in Congress, they encountered the determined and 
unyielding opposition of Mr. Polk. He planted himself 
upon what he conceived to be the impregnable doctrines 
of the Maysville road veto, and refused to be driven from 
his position. If he had ever been in doubt in respect to 
the propriety of constructing works of internal improve- 
ment in the states by the general government, his expe- 
rience as a legislator led him to reflect carefully upon the 
subject. He saw how the power which had been inferred 
from the Constitution, had been abused ; and when a 
careful examination of that instrument resulted in dis- 
covering no positive warrant for the authority which had 
been claimed by the friends of the " American System" 
to belong to the national government, he denied its ex- 
istence altogether. 

During his service in Congress, he was the steadfast 
friend of the surviving officers and soldiers of the revolu- 
tion. No one did more than he to establish and perfect 
the pension system, and he was particularly active in his 
efforts to extend its benefits to the officers and soldiers of 
the militia. 

He was among the earliest opponents of the recharter 
of the United States Bank ; and in the month of August, 
1829,* in a letter addressed to his constituents, he avowed 

* This was several months previous to the appearance of General Jack- 
eon'e first message. 



84 « JAMES Kirox POLK. [1825-39- 

his convictions to 1)0 irreconcilably opposed to the exist- 
ence of such an institution, and denied both its constitu- 
tionality and expediency. He supported and defended 
the administration of General Jackson during the exciting 
Contest Avith the bank, and approved and justified the 
removal of the deposits. With General Jackson and Mr. 
Vtin Buren, he was at first favorable to the state bank 
deposit system ; but when he saw how total was its fail- 
ure to answer the expectations of himself, and his friends 
and coadjutors, he hailed the project of an independent 
treasury recommended by Mr. Van Buren, as the great 
desideratum in the financial system of the government. 
This measure received his unqualified approbation, and 
at all times and on all occasions, he expressed himself 
unreservedly in its favor. He had the proud satisfaction, 
too, in the first year of his administration, of approving, 
in an official character, the bill which, at the close of his 
public career, remained unrepealed on the statute-book, 
— a bill which had risen, like the Phoenix from his pyre, 
from the ashes of obloquy and persecution, and was pro- 
claimed the law of the land, in accordance with the 
expressed will of the Nation. 



CHAPTER V. 

Dissensions in the Republican Party in Tennessee— Xomination of Ju(l;^e 
White for the Presidencj-— Course of Mr. Polk— Chosen Speaker of tho 
House of Representatives- Reelected— Character as a Presiding Officer — 
Vote of Thanks — Farewell ^Uldress. 

Although the vote of Tennessee, given at the presi- 
dential election in 1828, was almost unanimous in favor 
of General Jackson,* indications of dissatisfaction were 
manifested by some of the most prominent members of 
the republican party in that state, at an early period of 
his administration. It was impossible for him to gratify 
all the numerous applicants for office, and those Avho were 
disappointed, though they took care to conceal their cha- 
grin, cherished many an unfriendly feeling at heart, that 
only required an occasion for its exhibition. But while 
his personal fortunes appeared to be at stake, nothing like 
open opposition was witnessed ; he had firmly secured 
the love and respect of the people of Tennessee, and a 
whisper against his fair fame aroused their indignation. 
His name, like that of Hafed, was a " name of fear ;" 
and .if murmurs were ever heard, they were directed 
toward those who were said to be his confidential friends 
and advisers. 

As the time approached, however, for the selection of 
his successor, the elements of discord and disaffection 



* There were only about twenty-two hundred votes cast for the Adams 
electors in the whole state. 



86 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1834. 

were more plainly visible. His preferences for Mr. Van 
Buren were well known, as they were never disguised. 
But in Tennessee, a large portion of the republicar- 
partj were in favor of Hugh L. White, an estimable 
and talented citizen of that state, then one of its Senators 
in Congress ; and they desired to have him duly brought 
forward by a legislative nomination, as their candidate 
for the presidency. Unsuccessful attempts were made 
to induce the legislature to makfi the desired nomination, 
and a similar effort at the convention called to revise the 
state constitution, in the spring of 1834, likewise failed 
of success. In tlie neighboring state of Alabama, the 
friends of Judge White Avere more fortunate ; and in the 
month of January, 1835, the legislature of that state 
nominated him as their candidate for the succession, — 
but with the reservation, and upon the condition, that he 
should be " the choice of tlie republican party throughout 
the Union." 

Governor Carroll, Ex-Governor Blount, Felix Grundy, 
James K. Polk, Cave Johnson, and other discerning 
men in the republican ranks in Tennessee, saw, at a 
glance, that the prospects of Judge White Avere utterl}^ 
liopeless. Indeed, it Avas idle to presume that the condi- 
tion mentioned in the resolution of the Alabama leo-isla- 
ture would ever take place. Tennessee had been honored 
with a president of her own choice, for eight years in 
succession ; and there was nothing in the public services, 
or in the character of Judge White, that peculiarly enti- 
tled him to inherit this distinction, in opposition to the 
candidates whose nomination was desired in other states. 
Besides, the general sentiment of the republican party in 



1834.] HIS COURSE. 8T 

the nation, as manifested in a thousand ways, and in the 
most unequivocal manner, had indicated a decided pref- 
erence for Mr. Van Buren. 

Mr. Polk and his friends were disposed to yield a 
ready acquiescence to what appeared to be the controlling 
desire of their republican friends out of Tennessee. He 
"was himself urgently solicited to join in some public 
manifestation in behalf of Judge White ; but he firmly 
and constantly refused to lend his name or his influence 
for any such purpose. He esteemed Judge White for 
his virtues and talents, and was averse to taking ground 
decidedly against him, although he saw, that his suscep- 
tibility to flattery had been taken advantage of by his 
particular friends, and the opponents of the administra- 
tion, in order to distract and divide the republican party 
at the approaching presidential election. Personally, 
Mr. Polk Avas not in the least degree unfriendly to tl:e 
political advancement of Judge White ; but he had none 
of that false state pri le, which would have led him to 
oppose and denounce, as he was desired to do, the pre- 
ferred candidate of the republicans throughout the Union. 

Meanwhile, the course of Judge White and his friends 
was not calculated to increase his popularity among the 
supporters of General Jackson's administration. Oa sev- 
eral occasions he had given evidence of a disposition to 
thwart the President in some of his favorite and leadinc- 
measures. At the session of 1833-34, he voted ao;ainst 
the " three million amendment" to the fortification bill ; 
he opposed, also, the Ross treaty, and the expuno-ino- res- 
olutions of Mr. Benton ; and he supported the movement 
made by the Whigs in Congress, predicated, as they 



88 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1834. 

alleged, upon their fears with respect to the union of the 
purse and the sword in the hands of the President, to re- 
duce the Executive patronage and power. 

In the House of Representatives, the White interest 
was represented bj John Bell, one of the colleagues of 
Mr. Polk, and between whom there had long existed a 
sort of rivalship. Both claimed to be the sincere friends 
of General Jackson, and botli approved of the veto of the 
United States Bank, and the removal of the deposits. 
But Mr. Bell was in favor of the incorporation of another 
bank,* Avhile Mr. Polk, in accordance with what had now 
become one of the cardinal doctrines of the party to which 
he belonged, as it had been one of the tests of the old re- 
publican creed, avowed his uncompromising hostility to 
any such institution. The latter, therefore, was the most 
popular with the republican members of the House, and 
was more particularly honored ■\' ith the confidence and 
friendship of President Jackson, ;;nd the principal leaders 
of the republican part;:. In Jini'\ 1834. the Speaker of 
the House, Andrew Stevenson, ot Virginia, resigned his 
seat in Congress, in consequence of his nomination as 
Minister to Great Britain. Mr. Polk was instantly se- 
lected by the majority of the republican, or democratic! 
members, as tlie administration candidate for the vacant 

* Speech of Mr. Bell on Mr. (.'layton's liesolntion, 1S32. 

t About the time of the first election of General Jackson, in 1S28, his 
friends and supporters began to assume the party designation of democrats, 
or democratic npiibUcans, — the former term, previous to that time, having 
been generally regarded as one of reproach. The opponents of his adminis- 
tration called themselves nationil republican^, until 1331, when thej' as- 
sumed the name of M'/i/jjs Since that date the t-.vo great parties have been 
usually designated as n-Zj/sfs and demcaats. The adherent-' of .Tudge White 
in Tennessee, claimed to be the '• no-party party."' 



1835-J SUPPORT OF MR. VAN BUREN. 89 

position. But the friends of Judge White refused to 
support him, and voted for Mr. Bell, who, with the aid 
of the Whig members, was elected over Mr. Polk on the 
tenth ballot. 

In the month of January following, the Alabama nomi- 
nation Avas made, as has been mentioned ; and during: the 
same session of Congress, the Tennessee delegation in 
the House, with the exception of Mr. Polk and Cave 
Johnson, united in recommending the support of Judo-e 
White for the Presidency. Mr. Bell, it is said, originally 
preferred Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky ; but 
the views of the latter in regard to the incorporation of a 
national bank not being satisfactory to him, he connected 
himself with the fortunes of Judge White. 

Shortly after the adjournment of Congi-ess, Mr. Van 
Buren was regularly put in nomination as the republican 
candidate for President, by the unanimous voice of the 
national convention assembled at Baltimore in May, 1835. 
Mr. Polk took no part in calling or recommending this 
convention. It was entirely a new movement, and orig- 
inated mainly in a desire to organize the republican 
party in a most efficient manner, in anticipation of a pow- 
erful effort on the part of the opponents of the adminis- 
tration to defeat their candidates. After the nominations 
were made, and received with an almost universal ex- 
pression of approbation in every State in the Union, 
Tennessee alone excepted, Mr. Polk announced his de- 
termination not to separate himself from the republican 
party of the nation. Messrs. Carroll, Blount, Grundy 
and Johnson, agreed with him in sentiment, and active 
preparations were immediately made to carry the state 



90 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1835» 

at the gubernatorial and congressional elections, in Au- 
gust, 1835. But the time proved too short to counteract 
the impressions which had been formed, and to change 
the direction of the popular current. The Whigs united 
with the friends of Judge White, and succeeded in de- 
feating Governor Carroll, who was nominated for re- 
election, and all the administration candidates for Con- 
gress, save Mr. Polk and Mr. Johnson. 

The triumphant return of these two individuals was 
particularly disagreeable to the combined opposition. 
The most powerful efforts had been made to defeat them, 
and their opposition to Judge White was arrayed against 
them, through the press, and the harangues of public 
speakers, in every conceivable shape and form. Mr. 
Polk was assailed in his district Avith especial vehemence ; 
but when* his opponents discovered that all efforts to de- 
feat his reelection were useless, and that it was impossible 
to overcome his strong personal popularity, they sought 
to pledge him to the support of Mr. Bell for the speaker- 
ship, in opposition to any candidate beside himself. 

He had no terms to offer, or to accept, — no bargain to 
suggest, or to conclude. He went before the people, 
and defended his course and conduct, from the stump, in 
right good earnest. In a speech addressed to his con- 
stituents on the 20th of May, and before the Baltimore 
nominations were announced, he declared that he had at 
all times been willing to see Judge White elevated to the 
presidency, since his name had been spoken of, if it could 
be done by the political party to which they both be- 
longed ; " and," said he, " if at any time hereafter, the 
public sentiment in the democratic republicaa states, in 



1835.J PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 91 

vfhatever fair mode ascertained or expressed, shall indi- 
cate him as the choice of the body, or of a majority of 
the republican supporters of the present administration, 
I ■\vill be found uniting Avith them in his support. But 
until such indication shall be given, I Avill wait and see 
upon T\hom the great body of our friends of the same po- 
litical faith in other states do concentrate ; and upon 
him, whomsoever he may be, in my opinion, all should 
unite." 

" Were I to give an opinion," he added, " as to what 
the course of the opposition would ultimately be, judging 
from the conduct of the leaders of that party in Congress, I 
should say that they would wait, in the hope that we would 
become excited, divided, and arrayed against each other, 
between two or more candidates of our party, so that we 
could not be reunited ; and having effected this* by false 
pretence of intended support to jone of our party, it will 
only be necessary to sound a bugle to rally the whole 
strength of the opposition upon one of their own men. 
Should we divide to any great extent, none can suppose 
that the ambitious men who lead the opposition, will not 
take advantage of our divisions and run a candidate of 
their own." 

On the 8th of June, during the term of the county 
court, Mr. Polk addressed <he citizens of Maury in still 
more eloquent and animated terms. He defended the 
administration of General Jackson from the charges of 
the opposition, and repelled with manly generosity and 
disinterestedness the attacks mada upon Mr. Van Buren 
by his enemies. He pointed out the folly of supporting 
Judge White for the presidency, unless it was done for 



92 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1835. 

the express purpose of distracting and dividing the re 
publican party, so that the election woukl devolve on the 
House of Represcnta tives. He said he had taken no part 
in the Baltimore convention, nor in the nomination made 
bj his colleagues ; but he declared that " as a citizen, 
he would "support for the presidency that man Avho -was 
the choice of the great body of the republicans of the na- 
tion," at the same time pledging himself, if the election 
■went before the House, to carry out the will of the peo- 
ple of his district. 

The predictions of Mr. Polk were verified. Judge 
White ultimately received the support only of the oppo- 
nents of the administration and of the friends of the United 
States Bank, except that in a very few instances he ob- 
tained the votes of persons in the Southern Stntes, who 
thought Mr. Van Buren Avould be unable to carry them, 
and desired to prevent the election of General Harrison, 
the whig candidate at the north. In the State of Ten- 
nessee, Mr. Polk and his friends engaged with great ac- 
tivity in the contest, in support of Mr. Van Buren ; and 
the White electoral ticket, with the whole whig opposi- 
tion united in its favor, succeeded by but about nine 
thousand majority. 

Shortly after the August election in 1835, Mr. Polk 
visited Nashville, when on his way to Rutherford County. 
While at the seat of government, the compliment of a 
public dinner was tendered to him by the republicans of 
that city ; but he was forced to decline the proffered invi- 
tation, on account of the poor state of his health. In his 
reply to the letter of the citizens, which expressed their 
high approbation of his political course^ he said : " Being 



1835. J DECLINES A PUBLIC DINNER. 93 

unwilling; to do any act, which might tend to break up or 
disturb the integrity of this party— the repubUcan party, 
to which we belong— and with a sincere desire to avoid 
the state of things whicli now exists, and which I thought 
I foresaw was likely to be produced, I did not hesitate, 
during the past winter, to assume tlie position I now oc- 
cupy. It is the position of principle. I am still acting 
upon my old principles, and with a vast majority of my 
old political friends ; with whom I do now, and have ever 
agreed in opinion. I have not changed my position, or 
any political opinion, upon which I have ever acted. I 
have compromised no principle, nor can I act witli those 
who have broken off and seceded from the body of the re- 
publican party, and assumed a position, which cannot 
operate otherwise (though by many that effect, doubtless, 
is not intended) than in aid of the adversaries of our prin- 
ciples ; who, being in a minority, are ' willing to destroy 
the landmarks -of republicanism ;' who seek to efl\ice the 
lines which have hitherto separated federalists and repub- 
licans, and to organize upon the niins of the republican 
party, by an unnatural amalgamation of political leaders 
of discordant principles and opinions, a new party called 
by whatever name, whether by that of the ' no-party' 
party, or any other, Avhen the necessary and inevitable 
consequences must be the destruction of those princi- 
ples we hold dear. If the object of this amalgamation 
and new organization be, as is sometimes professed, to 
put an end to the existence and asperity of party, it can- 
not be attained ; for of what avail is it, to break up and 
destroy one party— the republican party— and erect upon 
its rui'us another— the ' no-party' party— which, judging 



94 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1832 39. 

from the indications we have seen, from some of the lead- 
ers of this new party, is likely to be, in Tennessee at 
least, more intolerant than any other party which has 
ever existed amongst us." 

The friends of Judge White did not yet despair of se- 
curing the influence of Mr. Polk ; and in the month of 
October he received an invitation to attend a public din- • 
ner to be given to the Judge in Maury county, on the 
20th instant. The reply of Mr. Polk to the committee 
was brief but pertinent. " I have this moment," said he, 
" received your note of invitation to dine on Tuesday, the 
20th inst., and have the honor to decline it." After the 
dispatch of this missive, he Avas honored with no further 
attentions in that quarter. His constituents, however, 
looked upon the dunier to Judge White' as being designed 
to rebuke him for his course, and they forthwith made 
preparations for a similar demonstration of their regard 
for their representative. A dinner was accordingly given 
to Mr. Polk, at Mooresville, on the 22d of October, which 
was far more numerously attended than the previous af- 
fair in honor of Judge White. 

When the members of the twenty-fourth Congress as- 
sembled at the capitol for their first regular session, in 
December, 1835, it was found that the friends of the ad- 
ministration were largely in the majority. Mr. Polk was 
selected by general consent as their candidate for speaker, 
not merely as an act of justice on account of the circum- 
stances under which he was defeated the previous year, 
but as a tribute due to his exalted worth and talents, and 
the firmness and independence he had exhibited during 
the recent canvass in Tennessee. Mr. Bell was once 



1835-39. J CHARACTER AS PRESIDING OFFICER. 95 

more the opposing candidate, but he received only 84 
votes, -while 132 were given for Mr. Polk. At the first, 
or extra session of the 2oth Congress, held in September, 
1837, the same candidates were pitted against each other 
— Mr, Bell being at that time thoroughly identified with 
the wliig opposition. Parties were more equally divided 
in tliis Congress, but Mr. Polk was again chosen over his 
opponent by thirteen majority. 

As the Speaker of the 2-lth and the 25th Congress, Mr. 
Polk occupied the c'.;:".-!- of the House during five ses- 
sions. It was liis fortune to fill this distinguished posi- 
tion when party feelings were excited to an unusual de- 
gree. Duriug the first session, more appeals were taken 
from his decisions, than were ever before known ; but he 
was uniformly sustained by the House, and frequently by 
the most prominent members of the opposition. He was 
courteous and affable toward all who approached him, 
and in his manner, as the presiding officer, dignity and 
urbanity were appropriately blended. In the appoint- 
ment of committees, in awarding the floor, and in his de- 
cisions on questions of parliamentary laAv, he aimed to be 
strictly impartial ; and if he at any time failed in this, it 
was because he could not entirely divest himself — and 
who is there that can — of party feelings and prejudices. 
Amid the stormy scenes that attended the abolition ex- 
citement in Congress, and the presentation of petitions 
connected in one shape or another with the slavery ques- 
tion, he was always cool and collected, and never dis- 
turbed from the calm serenity that characterized him. 
Totally opposed though he was to all the movements of 
' the abolitionists, he yet habitually extended to their lead- 



96 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1835-39. 

er on the flooi' of tlie House, John Quincy Adams, 
" every kindness and courtesy imaginable."* 

Being perfectly familiar with the kx parliameiitaria, 
he was ever prompt in his decisions. Questions of order 
might be multiplied, till the whole business of the House 
seemed to be in a state of irretrievable confusion ; but he 
instantly imravelled the knot and restored order and har- 
mony. Discord and strife might shake the pillars of the 
capitol, but he quailed not from his duty. Whether 
frowns or smiles, favor or dislike, followed his decisions, 
he did not stop to inquire. He would not swerve a single 
hair's breadth from what he conceived to be right ; and 
this he did, and to this he adhered, regardl'ess of conse- 
quences personal to himself. 

At the close of the 24th Congress, in March, 1837, a 
unanimous vote of thanks to the Speaker was passed by 
the House. The sessions of the ensuing Congress were 
remarkable for the violence and asperity that signalized 
the proceedings. The discussions on the independent 
treasury, and other topics connected with the prevailing 
panic and derangement in the monetary affairs of the 
country, were exceedingly animated. Mr. Polk was 
•often called upon to decide what were regarded as party 
questions ; and though the same uprightness of principle, 
honesty of intention, and conscientious desire not to for- 
get his moral responsibility, influenced his conduct, the 
opposition members, as was natural in their excited state 
of feeling which continued to be exhibited up to the very 
last day of the closing session, refused to unite in passing 

• E-emiaiscences of John Quincy Adams, by an Old Colony Man. 



1835-89.J VOTE OF THANKS. 97 

the customary vote of tlianks. The usual resolution was 
offered by an administration member, which produced a 
warm debate. It was at length adopted by the votes of 
the republican members ; several of the opposition mem- 
bers also concurred in it, but the great body of them 
either voted in the negative or remained silent. 

Under almost any other circumstances -this resolution 
would probably have been passed without a dissenting 
voice. No speaker elected as the candidate of a political 
party <?ould have been more rigidly impartial than was 
Mr. Polk. To his opponents, doubtless, it sometimes 
seemed, in the ardor with which they pursued their ef- 
forts to render the administration of Mr. Van Buren un- 
popular, and to defeat its measures, that he was inclined 
to exert his power unnecessarily to thwart them, and that 
he was unduly governed by party feelings. But they 
were mistaken in his character. He was a party man, 
but not a bitter or vindictive partisan. If his political 
prejudices even led him into an unintentional error, what 
member of the 25th Congress belonging to the opposition, 
could say — " Stand aside, for I am holier than thou !" 
Where all were excited to an extent hitherto unexam- 
pled, who had the right to censure his fellow ? 

In adjourning the House on the 4th of March, 1839, 
and terminating forever his connection with the body, of 
which he had been so long a member, Mr. Polk delivered 
a farewell address of more than ordinary length, bu: 
characterized by deep feeling. " When I look b^cK to 
the period," said he, " when I first took mv scat in this 
House, and then look around me for tLose who were at 
that time my associates here, I find but few, very few, 
5 



98 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1839. 

rcmainins;. But five members who were here with me 
fourteen years ago, continue to be members of this body. 
Mj service here has "been constant and laborious. I 
can perhaps say what but few others, if any, can, that I 
have not failed to attend the daily sittings of this House 
a single day since I have been a member of it, save on 
a single occasion, when prevented for a short time by in- 
disposition. In my intercourse with the members of 
this body, when I occupied a place upon the floor, though 
occasionally engaged in debates upon interesting public 
questions, and of an exciting character, it is a source of 
unmingled gratification to me to recur to the fact, that 
on no occasion was there the slightest personal or un- 
pleasant collision with any of its members. Maintaining", 
and at all times expressing, my own opinions firmly, the 
same right was fully conceded to others. For four years 
past, the station I have occuj^ied, and a sense of pro- 
priety, in the divided and unusually-exciting state of pub- 
lic opinion and feeling, which has existed both in this 
House and the country, have precluded me from partici- 
pating in your debates. Other duties were assigned me. 
" The high office of Speaker, to which it has been 
twico the pleasure of the House to elevate me, has been 
at all tim:s one of labor and high responsibility. It has 
been made my duty to decide more questions of parlia 
mentary law and older, many of them of a complex and 
difficult character, arisino; often in the midst of high ex- 
citement, in the course of our proceedings, than had 
been decided, it is believed, by all ni}^ predecessors, from 
the foundation of the government. This House has uni- 
formly sustained me, without distinction of the political 



1839. J speaker's farewell address. 99 

parties of which it has been composed. I return them 
my thanks for their constant support in the discharge of 
the duties I have had to perform. 

" But, gentlemen, my acknowledgments are especially 
due to the majority of this House, for the high and 
flattering evidence they have given me, of their approba- 
tion of my conduct as the presiding officer of the House, 
by the resolution you have been pleased to pass. I re- 
gard it as of infinitely more value than if it had been the 
common matter-of-course, and customary resolution, 
which, in the courtesy usually prevailing between the 
presiding officer and the members of any deliberative 
assembly, is always passed at the close of their deliber- 
ations. I regard this as the highest and most valued 
testimonial I have ever received from this House ; be- 
cause I know that the circumstances under which it has 
passed, have made it matter of substance, and not of 
mere form. I shall bear it in grateful remembrance to 
the latest hour of my life. 

" I trust this high ofiice may in future times be filled, 
as doubtless it will be, by abler men. It cannot, I 
know, be filled by any one who will devote himself with 
more zeal and untiring industry to do his whole duty, 
than I have done." 



CHAPTER VI. 

Mr. Poik supported by the Democratic Party in Tennessee as their Candi- 
date for Governor — The Canvass — His Election — Inaugural Address — 
Executive Recommendations — His Administration — A Candidate for 
Reelection — Defeat — State Politics. 

Still hiohcr honors awaited Mr. Polk. His Ion"; and 
arduous service in the national representation, and more 
especially the circumstances attending the presidential 
canvass of 1836, had I'auiiliarized the people of Tennessee 
■with his name and character. To the republican party 
he was endeared by his sacrifices in their behalf, by his 
devotion to their hiterests, and his steadfast maintenance 
of their principles. They had marked, with pride and 
exultation, his manly bearing in the political contests 
through which they had passed ; they had seen him dis- 
play the gallantry of Hotspur with the prudent caution 
and wisdom of Worcester ; they had witnesse(| the unsuc- 
cessful efforts which had been made to prostrate him as a 
public man ; and they had rejoiced over his repeated 
ti'iumphs, when so man}^ adverse influences were arrayed 
against him. 

Greatness is frequently the result of mere accident ; 
and fame, like the ignis fatuus, often shines the most 
brightly over the dead man's grave. Popular favor is 
sometimes hard to win, and then again it is easily ac- 
quired, but, it may be as.easiiy lost. The career of a 



1839.] GUBERNATORIAL CANVASS 101 

politician resembles the summer landscape above -which 
the fleecy clouds are constantly flitting — now in the light, 
and now in the shade — here all sunshine and brightness, 
and there all darkness and gloom. The gratification of 
human hopes is always uncertain, and aspirations after 
public honors are not exempt from the disappointments 
incident to mortal desires. But this should not deter 
true merit from treading the path of honorable ambition. 
Accidental distinctions arc rarely worth striving for ; but 
the lasting esteem of a free people is a patent of nobility 
prouder than was ever granted by kingly favor, and is 

" stamped with a seal, 
Far, far more ennobling, than monarch e'er set." 

At the earnest request, and upon the urgent solicita- 
tions of his friends, repeatedly pressed upon him, Mr. 
Polk consented to become the candidate of the republicans 
of Tennessee, at the August election in 1839, for the 
office of governor. It was very evident that none but the 
strongest man in the party could enter into the canvass 
with anything like a fair prospect before him ; and it was 
exceedingly doubtful whether he could be successful. 
The democracy of the state were in a measure disheart- 
ened by the disasters and defeats which they had expe- 
rienced since the secession of Judge White, Mr. Bell, 
and their friends, from the party ; and they needed some 
leader possessing a powerful hold upon their affections, 
of popular manners and an able speaker, to place himself 
at their head, to encourage them by his example, and to 
animate them by his sth-ring eloquence. 

Such a leader was Mr. Polk. He cheerfully accepted 



102 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1839. 

tlie nomination, which was tendered to him bj the unani- 
mous consent of his republican friends, in the fall of 
1838, and at a barbecue in Murfreesborough publicly de- 
clared himself a candidate. He immediately took the 
stump, but was only able to make a few speeches that 
fall, as it was necessary for him to repair to Washington 
in time for the opening of the session of Congress. 

At the close of the session, in the spring of 1839, he 
hastened home without delay, and his familiar voice Avas 
soon heard uttering its thrilling appeals, that aroused tlie 
feelings, and moved the hearts, of those who listened to 
him, like the notes of a trumpet op the eve of an impend- 
ing battle. The energies of the party were forthwith 
levived ; unity and harmony everywhere prevailed ; and 
a new spirit seemed to dwell in the bosoms of those who 
had been languid and faint-hearted, and had already 
predicted defeat. 

The canvass was warm and spirited. The state had 
for years been in the hands of the opposition, nnd they 
now rallied with enthusiasm and alacrity in support of 
Governor Cannon, the incumbent of the office, wlio was 
a candidate for reelection. The governor was a man of 
great popularity, Avell and widely known, and justly es- 
teemed for his high character and talents. He appeared 
on the stump in person, and a number of the ablest whig 
speakers in the state labored for weeks in his support. 
Mr. Polk was favored by no factitious circumstances. 
On the contrary, everything was against him, and the 
issue of the contest, as was proved by the result, depend- 
^'d mainly on himself. As a stump speaker he was in- 
vincible ; and his abilities in this respect were now put to 



1839. J THE CANVASS. 103 

a severe test. Never did liis aptness, \\is facilite in ad- 
dressing popular assemblies, appear to greater advantage, 
or serve liim in greater stead. He had reached the turn- 
ing point of his fortunes — the crisis of his career. If 
defeated on this occasion it might be impossible to main- 
tain himself in the position he had previously occupied, 
but if successful, yet higher distinctions might be attain- 
ed. The prize seemed to be worthy of his utmost efforts. 
He flew, as it were, from one end of the state to the 
other. He visited every county and addressed its citi- 
zens. He scarcely gave himself time to eat or to sleep, 
but, entirely indifferent to fatigue, continued his efforts, 
without pause or relaxation, up to the last hour* of the 
canvass. 

Animated as was the contest, nothing like personal ill- 
feeling was manifested by cither of tlie rival candidates. 
Governor Cannon, however, was afraid to meet Mr. Polk 
on the stump. The latter made out a list of appointments 
in West Tennessee, and invited his opponent to accom- 
pany him. The invitation was declined by Governor 
Cannon ; whereupon Mr. Polk set out to fill his appoint- 
ments, but Avhen he had reached the extreme western 
limits of the state, he was informed that Governor Can- 
non had left for East Tennessee, in order to fill some ap- 
pointments which he had made there. Mr. Polk instantly 
suspended his own unfilled appointments, and travelled 
with the utmost speed to Knoxville, which place he reach- 
ed without having slept in a bed, or pulled off his boots, 
during the journey. He then met Governor Cannon, 
and, as was claimed by his friends, defeated him on 
every occasion. That the people coincided in this opin- 



104 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1839. 

ion, was evinced bj their expressions of praise and ap- 
probation, and bj their votes at the polls. 

The exertions of Mr. Polk during this canvass de- 
served the success with which they were rewarded. He 
was elected over Governor Cannon by upwards of twenty- 
five hundred majority, and on the 14th of October took 
the oath of office at Nashville, and entered upon the dis- 
charge of the executive duties. On this occasion, he de- 
livered the following address, which is with justice con- 
sidered to be one of tlic clearest and ablest documents 
that ever came from his pen, in the presence of the Gen- 
eral Assembly and a large concourse of citizens : 

governor's address. 

Gentlemen of the Senate, of the House of Representatives, 
and Fellow-Citizens: 

Deeply impressed with a sense of gratitude to ray fellow- 
citizens for the confidence they have reposed in me by elevat- 
ing me to the Ciiief Executive Office in the State, and duly 
sensible of the weight of responsibility wliich will devolve 
upon me, I enter upon the discliarge of its duties firmly rely- 
ing upon the cooperation of tlie coordinate departments of 
the State Government, in all -such measures of public policy 
as may be calculated to maintain tlie liigh character of the 
State, and to advance and promote tlie interests, the happi- 
ness, and prosperity of the people. 

A proper respect for public opinion, as well as a compliance 
with public expectation, seem to require that I should upon 
this occasion publicly declare the leading principles which I 
shall deem it proper to be observed in the conduct of the 
State Administration, so far as the action of the Executive 
branch may be concerned. 

Under oui- happy system of Government, the ultimate and 



1839. j governor's address. 105 

supreme sovereignty rests in the people. The powers of gov- 
ernment delegated by the people to their public functionaries, 
are by our constitution divided between the Federal and 
State authorities. The State Governments are not, as has 
been erroneously supposed by some, subordinate to the Fed- 
eral Government. " They are coordinate departments of one 
simple and integral whole." The States have parted Avith 
certain enumerated and specified powers, and, by the Consti- 
tution of the United States, these are delegated to the Fed- 
eral Government, and can only be rightfully exercised by 
that Government. " The powers not delegated to the United 
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, 
are reserved to the States resj)ectively, or to the people." 
B T the partition of powers thus distinctly defined, it is mani- 
fei*' that each government possesses powers which are with- 
held from the other. And so long as each acts within its 
legitimate and proper sphere, the system works harmoniously, 
and affords to the citizen a greater amount of secvmty for life, 
liberty and property, and in' the pursuit of happiness, than 
is to be found under any other government which has ever 
existed. When either overleaps the true boundary prescribed 
for its action, and usurps the exercise of powers properly be- 
longing to the other, the hannony of the system is disturbed, 
and ajritatino: collisions arise Avhich are calculated to weaken 
the bonds of union. Whilst, therefore, the States should be 
jealous of every encroachment of the Federal Government on 
their rights, they should be careful to confine themselves in 
their own action to the exercise of powers clearly reserved to 
them. 

It will, I do not doubt, be the • patriotic desire of my con- 
stituents, as I know it will be mine, in the discharffe of the 
functions to which I am called, that " the support of the 
State Governments in all their rights, as the most competent 
administrations for our domestic concerns, and the surest bul- 
wark against anti-republican tendencies," and that the " pres- 
5* 



106 JAMES KNOX POLK. [18o9- 

ervation of the General Government, in its whole constitu- 
tional vigor, as the sheet-anchor of our peace at home, and 
safety abroad," shall be scrupulously observed and inviolably 
maintained. 

In ascertaining the true line of separation between the 
powers of the General Government and of the States, much 
difficulty has often been experienced in the operations of our 
system. The powers delegated to the General Government 
are either express or implied. The general rule of construc- 
tion laid down by the General Assembly of Virginia in 1799, 
may be regarded as a sound one by which to determine 
whether a given power has been delegated to that Govern- 
ment, or is reserved to the States. That rule is — '-When- 
ever a question arises concerning the constitutionality of a 
particular power, the first question is, whether the power be 
ex2iressed in the constitution. If it be, the question is decided. 
If it be not expressed, the next question must be, whether it 
is properly an incident to an expressed power, and necessary 
to its execution. If it be, it may be exercised by Congress, 
If it be not. Congress cannot exercise it." If the power be 
not exp'essed, it is not enough that it may be convenient or 
expedient to exercise it, for such a construction of the Consti- 
tution of the United States would refer its exercise to the 
imlimited and unrestrained discretion of Consrress — to deter- 
mine Avhat would be convenient or expedient ; thereby making 
the exercise of important powers, by the General Govern- 
ment, to depend upon the varying discretion of successive 
Congresses. It must be a "necessary and proper " power. 
It must be an incident to an express power, " necessary and 
proper " to carry that express power into effect, and, without 
which, it could not be exercised, and would be nugatory. 

Mr. Jefferson, whose soxmd expositions of the relative 
powers of the Federal and State Governments but few of my 
constituents will be prepared at this day to question, near 
the close of a long and eventful life of public usefulness, de- 



1839.] governor's address. 107 

clared " to be most false and unfounded, the doctxTine that 
the compact, in authorizing its federal branch to lay and col- 
lect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and 
provide for the common defence and general welfare of the 
United States, has given them thereby a power to do what- 
ever iliey may think, or pretend, would promote the* 'general 
welfare, whicli construction would make tliat, of itself, a com- 
plete government, without limitation of powers ; but, that the 
plain sense and obvious meaning were, that they might levy 
tlie taxes necessary to provide for the genei'al welfare, by the 
various acts of power therein specified and delegated to 
them, and by no others." 

In all cases of well-founded constitutional doubt, it is safest 
and wisest for all the functionaiies of government, both State 
and Federal, to abstain from tlie exercise of the doubtful 
power. In all such cases, it is both safest and wisest to ap- 
peal to the people, the only true source of power in the con- 
stitutional forms, by an amendment of tlie fundamental law, 
to remove such doubt, either by an enlargement or a restric- 
tion of the doubtful power in question. 

The Federal Government has at different times assumed, 
or attempted to exercise powers, which, in my judgment, 
have not been conferred upon that government by the com- 
pact. Among these, I am free to declare my solemn convic- 
tion that the Federal Government possesses no constitutional 
power to incorporate a National Bank. The advocates of a 
bank insist that it would be convenient and expedient, and that 
it would promote the " general welfare :" but they have, in 
my judgment, failed to show that the power to create it is 
cither expressly granted, or that it is an incident to any express 
power, that is "necessary and proper ^^ to carry that power 
into effect. The alarming dangers of the power of such a 
corporation (vast and irresponsible as experience has shown 
it to be) to the public liberty, it does not fall within the scope 
of my present purpose fully to examine. We have seen the 



10'8 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1839. 

power of associated wealth in the late Bank of the United 
States, wrestling with a giant's strength Avith the Govern- 
ment itself— and although finally overthrown, it was not until 
after a long and doubtful contest. During the struggle, it 
manifested a power for mischief Avhich it Avoukl be danger- 
ous to permit to exist in a free countr3\ The panic and 
alarm, the distress and extensive suffering, which in its con- 
vulsive struggle to perpetuate its power it inflicted on the 
country, will not soon be forgotten. Its notorious alliance 
with leadino- politicians, and its open interference by means 
of the corrupting power of money in the poHtical contests of 
the times, had converted it into a political engine, used to 
control elections and tlie coui-se of public affairs. No re- 
straints of law could prevent any similar institution from be- 
ing the willing instrument used for similar purposes. The 
State of Tennessee, through her Legislature, has repeatedly 
declared her settled opinions against the existence of such an 
institution, and at no time in its favor. She has instructed 
her Senators, and requested her Representatives in Congress 
to vote against the establishment of such an institution. In 
these opinions, heretofore expressed by the State, I entirely 
concur. 

Of the same character is the power which at some time has 
been attempted to be exercised by the Federal Government, 
of first collecting by taxation on the people a surplus revenue 
beyond the wants of that GoA-ernment, and then distributing 
such surplus, in the shape of donations, among the States : a 
power which has. not been conferred on that Government by 
any express grant, nor is it an incident to any express power, 
" necessary and proper" for its execution. To concede such 
a power, would be to make the Federal Government the tax- 
gatherer of tlie States, and accustom them to look to that 
source from whicli to supply the State Treasuries, and to de- 
fray the expenses of the State Governments. It is clear that 
this constituted no one of the objects of the creation of the 



1839.] GOVERNORS MESSAGE. 109 

Federal Government ; and to permit its exercise would be to 
reduce the States to tlie degraded condition of suboi-dinate 
dependencies upon that Government, to destroy their separ- 
ate and independent sovereignty, and to make the Govern- 
ment of the Union in effect a consohdation. The power to 
make provision for the support of its own Government, by 
the levy of the necessary taxes upon its own citizens, and the 
adoption of such measures of policy for its internal Govern- 
ment not inconsistent with the Federal Constitution, as may 
be deemed proper and expedient, " remains to each State 
among its domestic and unalienated powers exercisable within 
itself and by its domestic authorities alone." 

A surplus Federal revenue, raised by means of a tariff of 
duties, must necessarily be collected in unequal proportions 
from the people of the respective States. The planting and 
producing States must bear the larger portion of the burden. 
It was this inequality which has heretofore given rise to the just 
complaints of these States, as also of the commercial interests, 
against the operations of a high and protective tariff. If the 
proceeds of tlie sales of the public lands be set apart for dis- 
tribution among the States, as has been sometimes proposed, 
the operation and effect would be the same ; for, by abstract- 
ing from the Federal Treasury tlie proceeds of the sales of 
the public lands, a necessity is thereby created for an in- 
creased Tariff to the amoimt thus abstracted. To collect a 
surplus revenue by unequal taxation, and then to return to 
the people, by a distribution among the States, their own 
money, in sums diminished by the amount of the cost of col- 
lection and distribution, aside from its manifest injustice, is a 
power which it could never have been intended to confer on 
the Federal Government. 

When, from the unforeseen operation of the revenue laws 
of the United States, a surplus at any time exists or is likely 
to exist in the Federal Treasury, the true remedy is, to re- 
duce or to repeal the taxes so as to collect no more money 



110 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1839. 

than shall be absolutely necessary for the economical wants 
of that Government, and thus leave "what would otherwise 
be surplus uncollected in the pockets of the people. The act 
of Congress of 1836, by which a large amount of the surplus 
on hand was distributed among the States, is upon its face a 
dejjosit and not a donation of the sums distributed. The 
States have become the debtors to the Federal Government 
for their respective proportions, and are subject to be called 
upon to refund it. Had the act provided for an absolute do- 
nation to the States, so palpable an infraction of the Consti- 
tution it is scarcely possible to conceive could have been 
sanctioned. By making it assume the form of a mere deposit 
of the money of the United States in the State Treasuries for 
safe-keeping until needed for public purposes, it became the 
law. Though it may not be probable that the sums distrib- 
uted on deposit will be called for at an early period, if indeed 
they will ever be, imless in cases of exigencies growing out of 
a foreign Avar, yet the States should be at all times prepared 
to meet the call when made ; and it will be unsafe for them 
to rely upon the sums they have recefved as a permanent 
fund. They should rather look to their own credit and re- 
sources in the accomplishment of their purposes. 

It becomes the duty of all the States, and especially of 
those whose constitutions recognize the existence of domestic 
slavery, to look with watchfulness to the attempts which 
have been recently made to disturb the rights secured to 
them by the Constitution of the United States. The 
agitation of the abolitionists can by no possibihty pro- 
duce good to any portion of the Union, and must, if per- 
sisted in, lead to incalculable mischief. The institution 
of domestic slavery, as it existed at the adoption of the 
Constitution of the United States, and as it still exists in 
some of the States, formed the subject of one of the compro- 
mises of opinion and of interest upon the settlement of which 
all tlie old States became parties to the compact and agreed 



-^839-] governor's address. HI 

to enter the Union. The new States were admitted into tlie 
Union upon an equal footing with the old States, and are 
equally bound by the terms of the compact. Any attempt 
on the part of the Federal Government to act upon the sub- 
ject of slavery, as it exists within the States, would be a 
clear infraction of the Constitution ; and to disturb it ^v-ithin 
the District of Columbia, would be a palpable violation of 
the public faith, as well as of the clear meaning and ob\nous 
intention of the framers of the Constitution. They intended 
to leave, and they did in foct leave, the subject to the exclu- 
sive regulation and action of the States and Territories within 
which slavery existed or might exist. They intended to 
place, and they did in fact place it, beyond the pale of actimi 
within the constitutional power of the Federal Government. 
No power has been conferred upon the Federal Government^ 
either by express grant or necessary implication, to take cog- 
nizance of, or in any manner or to any extent to interfere 
with, or to act upon the subject of domestic slavery, the ex- 
istence of which in many of the States is expressly recoo-- 
nized by the Constitution of the United States. ° 

Whether the agitation we have recently witnessed upon 
this dehcate and disturbing subject has proceeded from a 
mistaken pliilanthropy, as may have been' the case with a 
few misguided i>ersons ; or whether there is, I regret to say, 
but too much reason to fear, from a desire on the part of 
many persons, who manifest .by their conduct a reckless dis- 
legard of the harmony of the Union and of the public good, 
to convert it into a political engine, with a view to control 
elections, jts progi-css should be firmly resisted by all the 
constitutional means within the power of the State. The 
most ca;unl observer of pnssing events cannot fail to have 
seen that modei-n Abolitionism, with rare and few exceptions 
among its advocates, has becom.-, to a great extent, purely a 
political question. That many of the leading abolitionists are 
active political partisans, fully identified with, and constitutinc. 



112 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1839. 

no inconsiderable part of, one of the political parties of the 
country, can no longer admit of doubt. They address them- 
selves to the prepossessions and prejudices of the commiuiity in 
which they live, against slavery in the abstract, and, availing 
themselves of these prepossessions and prejudices, are strug- 
gling to control political events. All the lovers of the Union of 
the States, and ail patriotic citizens, whether of the slavehold- 
hig or non-slaveholding States, who are ardently attached to 
our free institutions, must view Avith indignant reprobation the 
use made of such an unholy agitation with such objects. The 
attempts made to introduce it for discussion int^i the Federal 
Legislature have been met in the proper spirit, not only by 
Southern Representatives, but by a large portion of the 
IS'orthern delegation in Congress. It is fortunate for the 
country, that, in the midst of this agitation, there is at the 
head of the Federal Govcnmic'iit a Chief Magistrate who, in 
the patriotic discbarge of his high duties, has placed the seal 
of his unqualified condemnation upon any attempted action 
by Congress upon tite subject of slaverj'^ in any manner, or 
to any extent, whether existing within the States or witliin 
the District of Columbia. That he deserves and will receive 
the support of the States and of the people, in every portion 
of the I'nion, in maintaining his uncompromising and public- 
ly declared determination to preserve inviolate the compro- 
mises of the Federal Constitution and the reserved riglits of 
the slaveholding States on this subject, cannot be doubted. 

In regard to other powers, which at different times the 
Federal Government has assumed, or ar.erapted to exercise, 
the same reasorlhig may be applied. Among these may be 
enumerated the power assumed to construct works of Inter- 
nal Improvements within the States, by means of appropria- 
tions drawn from the National Tieasuiy ; the power of 
"abridging the freedom of speech," secured by the Constitu- 
tion to everj^ citizen, by enacting laws to suppress alleged 
sedition, or the more recent attempts to enact them under 



4 

1839.] governor'smessage. 113 

the more plausible pretence of " securing the freedom of 
elections." 

I shall most cheerfully cooperate with the Legislative and 
Judicial Departments of the State Government, by all tlie 
coiiiitilutional and legal means within the competency of the 
Executive, in their efforts to confine the action of the State 
Avithin proper hmits, and to resist the encroachments of the 
Federal Government, upon her reserved rights of sovereignty. 

I shall as cheerfully cooperate with them in all such meas- 
ures as shall be calculated to insure economy in the expen- 
ditures of the State Government, strict accountability on the 
part of public officers, the promotion of virtue, the suppres- 
sion of crime, and the development of the wealth, the re- 
sources, and the energies of the State. 

The revised Constitution under which -.ve are acting has in- 
fused into the administration of the State Government more 
of the Democratic principle ol immediate and direct agency 
by the people than existed under the former Constitution. 
Instead of delegating, as the old Constitution did, the power 
"of appoin'^ing many important ministerial and municipal offi- 
cers to the judicial tribunals and other appointing agents, the 
people are now their own agents, and make the appointments 
by popular elections. The higher judicial functionaries hold 
their offices by a tenure restricted to a term of years, and 
not, as formerly, by the tenure for life. These are important 
changes in the fundamental law of the State. In practice 
t'aey have, thus fai-, produced no inconvenience, but have 
worked well. 

Jn the administration of the State Government I regard it 
fortunate that there are but few subjects of internal policy 
upon which there exists much diversity of opinion. The 
encouragement of a " well-regulated system of Internal Jm- 
provement," and the promotion of " knowledge, learning, and 
virtue," as " being essential to the preservation of RepubUcan 
institutions," are duties imposed by the Constitution of the 



114 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1839. 

State upon her public functionaries, which they are not at 
hberty to disregard. Under the deep conviction that these 
are subjects of general and pervading interest to the whole 
people of the State, I shall regard it to be my duty to lend 
my aid in executing the injunctions of the Constitution in a 
liberal spirit. No objects are, in my judgment, more worthy 
of the public patronage and support. 

The preservation of public credit, and of a sound curren- 
cy in the State, will undoubtedly be among our highest du- 
ties. It is a prevailing error to suppose that a miiltiplication 
of banks, and an excessive issue of paper circulation, can ad- 
vance the public prosperity, or afford any permanent relief 
to the community in which they exist. Instead of a bless- 
ing, excessive banking generally proves to be a curse. The 
bloated state of apparent prosperity Avhich they temporarily 
excite, our experience has shown, has invariably been fol- 
lowed by derangement of the money market, depreciation ®f 
the cuiTency, and finally by severe pressure and suffering- 
inflicted on the people. To prevent the recurrence of such 
a state of things, it will be my desire, by all the constitu- 
tional and legal restrictions which can be thrown around 
them, to see that the banks which may exist in the State, 
shall be based upon a solid foundation, and confine their 
operations within their reasonable means to meet their respon- 
sibilities promptly. I will, at an early day, avail myself of 
an appropriate occasion to make to the General Assembly of 
the State, now in session, a communication touching sub- 
jects which may seem to require legislative action at their 
present session. 

It will be my duty, under the Constitution of the State, 
to " take care that the laws be faithfully executed/' The 
Exe(fiitive is vested Avith no legislative discretion or power. 
The laws which the General Assembly shall pass, il is made 
his duty to execute, even though he may difter in opinion 
with that branch of the State Government in reo-ard to 



1839-41. j EXECUTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS. 115 

their vrisdom or policy. This duty I shall faithfully per- 
form. 

Relying confidently upon the support of my fellow-citi- 
zens, and invoking the aid and guidance of the Supreme 
Ruler of the Universe, in whose hands are the destinies of 
government, and of men, I enter upon the discharge of the 
high duties which have been assigned me by the people. 

By the amended constitution of Tennessee, provision 
was made for such works of internal improvement as the 
geographical position of the state rendered necessary ; 
and in his first regular message, delivered to the two 
houses of the General Assembly on the 22d of October, 
1839, Governor Polk advised the " vigorous prosecution 
of a judicious system of improvements," and that " a 
board of public works, to be composed of two or more 
competent and scientific men, should be authorized, and 
their duties established by law." 

In the same message he recommended the revision of 
the laws prohibiting the practice of betting on elections, 
which, he says, " begets excitement and engenders strife ; 
and it but too often happens, that those who have stakes 
at hazard, become more interested to secure them, than 
by a dispassionate exercise of the right of sufirage, to se- 
cure the public good." 

Of unwise or irresponsible issues of paper money, or 
paper credits intended for circulation as money, he was 
always jealous ; and in his second regular message to" 
the legislature, in 1841, he advised " a revision of the 
Laws prohibiting the issuance of change tickets or small 
paper bills, by individuals and corporations other than 
banks," for the reason, as stated by him, that " some of 



ItR JAMES KNOX POLK. [1841-43. 

tlia internal improvement companies in v/liich the statj 
was a copartner," had issued " small paper bills in the 
form of scrip or checks, and put them into circulation as 
money, Avitliout any specie basis upon which to rest, and 
without authority of law." 

The administration of the state government by Mr. 
Poik was satisfactory to the public, and his course as 
chief magistrate was well calculated to harmonize the 
party of which, by the death of his old friend and pre- 
ceptor, Mr. Grundy, in 1840, he had become the ac- 
knowledo-ed head. He did not have occasion, while fill- 
iiig tlie office of governor, to endorse' any of the great 
principles of the democratic party, except in his inaugural 
address ; nor were any important measures of state poli- 
cy adopted under his particular auspices. 
■ Unlike the executives of other states, the Governor 
of Tennessee possesses no veto power ; neither has he 
the authority to commute the punishment of capital offend- 
ers to imprisonment for life. The cares and responsi- 
bilities of the executive are therefore comparatively light ; 
and as the legislature meets only once in two years, the 
duties are much less laborious than where the laws to be 
executed are constantly being changed or repealed. 

The term of office of Mr. Polk expired in October^ 
1841, but at the August election of that year, he was 
again a candidate. His prospects of defeat could hardly 
be considered doubtful ; inasmuch as the Avhirlwind, which 
had prostrated the democratic party in 1840 throughout 
the Union', had swept over the State of Tennessee Avith 
irresistible force. The Harrison electoral ticket had 
succeeded by more tuan twelve thousand majority. To 



1841-43. j CANDIDATE FOR RE-ELECTION. 117 

overcome this heavy vote was impossible ; but Mr. Polk 
entered upon the canvass with his accustomed spirit and 
energy. His competitor was James C. Jones, a most ef- 
fectivt^ speaker, and decidedly the most popular man at 
that ti)ne in the whig party of the state. 

Personal good feeling on the part of the opposing can- 
didates characterized this contest, as it had that of 1839. 
Mr. Polk frankly and cordially met Mr. Jones on the 
stump and travelled in company with him ; and, it is 
said, they slept in the same bed on one occasion. But 
all the efforts of Mr. Polk proved untivailing. The poli- 
tics of the state were for the time firmly fixed in oppo- 
sition to his own. He was defeated, but in his defeat 
achieved a triuinpli, by the reduction of the whig ma- 
jority to about three thousand. In 1843 he was ance 
more a candidate in opposition to Governor Jones, but the 
latter was reelected by nearly four thousand majority. 



CHAPTER VII, 

rivsidontial Canvass of 1S44— The Toxiis Quostiou— Letter of Sir. Polk to 
the Citizens of Cinoinuatti— The Baltimore Convention — Nomination of 
Hr. Polk — His Aceoptauce — Resolutions of the Convention — The Elec- 
tion — Reception at Nashville— Journey of the President Elect to Wash- 
ihgtou — His Inauguration — Address. 

C^N leaving the oxocutivo chair of Toiinessoo, ]\Ir. Polk 
rotuniod, without a sinii;lo nuinmu* or fooling of regret, 
to private life. Its peace ami tranquillity, its happiness 
and content, its calm and sweet pleasures, were congenial 
to Lis disposition and his tastes. Fortune had not 
sho\7ered wealth upon him with a lavish hand ; nor had 
he ever taken advantage of the frequent opportunities 
presented to him, to enrich himself by speculation. Fes- 
lina Icntc — ''' make haste slbwW" — was his motto in the 
studies and pursuits of his youth, and in the occupatwns 
of maturer years. He possessed a competence — all that 
"he needed or desired — which enabled him to be liberal in 
the bestowment of his charities, and to dispense a gener- 
ous hospitality to his numerous friends. And more than 
all, and above all, there dwelt by his fireside a minister- 
ing angel, whoso virtues and graces made his home a 
paradise of joys. 

But a politician, like a revolution, can rarely go back- 
ward. As a combatant who entered the lists at the 
Olympian Games could not retire without dishonor, so 



1844.] PRESIDENTIAL CANVASS. 119 

he who has long been before the people as a candidate 
for their suffrages, and been elevated by them to posi- 
tions of distinction, is not often permitted to withdraw 
himself voluntarily from the political arena. The claims 
of party friends upon the leader whom they have sup- 
ported are always strong, and generally irresistible. Mr. 
Polk was not without ambition ; but he preferred hence- 
forth to rely upon others to secure his advancement, if 
they desired so to do, and contented himself with being 
in the main a passive instrument in their hands. In 
1841 and 1843, he came forward as a candidate for gov- 
ernor, only in compliance with the general desire of his 
party. 

The wishes and expectations of his fr-iends were early 
fixed on .the presidential office. At the session of the 
Tennessee legislatarc in 1839, lie was nominated bv that 
body for the vice-presidency, to be placed on the ticket 
with Mr. Van Buren, a:;d with tac expectation, no doubt, 
that he might succeed tliat gentleman in the higher office. 
He was afterward nomiiiatcd in other states for the same 
position ; but as Colonel Johnson seemed to be the choice 
of the great body of the republican party in the Union, 
no efforts of importance were made by the friends of the 
former, and at the cloctioa in 1840 he received but one 
electoral vote, in the college of Virginia. 

From the time of tlie defe'at of Mr. Van Buren, in 
1840, up to within a few weeks previous to the assem- 
bling of the national democratic convention at Baltimore, 
in May, 1844, public opinion in the republican party 
seemed to be firmly fixed upon him as their candidate for 
reelection to the station which lie liad once filled. But 



120 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1844. 

in the month of April, 1844, a treaty was concluded 
under the auspices of President Tyler, between the rep- 
resentatives of- the government of the United States and 
of the republic of Texas, providing for the annexation* 
of the latter to the American Confederacy. This meas- 
ure, though long in contemplation, like the apple of dis- 
cord, was fruitful in strife and dissension. Hitherto it 
had been conceded on every hand, that Air. Van Buren 
and Mr. Clay ought to be, and would be, the rival candi- 
dates for the presidenc;^ in 1844 ; but now the political 
elements were thrown into complete confusion. The 
opinions of almost every public man in the United States 
were inquired after ; and among otliers, Rlr. Polk Avas 
addressed, it being undei'stood that he would be a promi- 
nent candidate at the Baltimore Convention for the re 
publican nomination for vicL'-president. At a meeting of 
citizens of Cincinnati opposi'd t) the annexation, held 
on the 29th of March, a coniniittce was appointed to cor- 
respond with the prominent men of both political parties, 
and to solicit from them an expression of their views upon 
the Texas question. From this committee Mr. Polk re- 
ceived a letter, accompanying a cop}^ of the proceedings 
of the meeting at Cinciimati, to which he returned the 
fol lowing repl_y :-^ 

CoLUMHiA, Tennessee, April 22, 1844. 

Gentlemen . — Your letter of the oOth ult., which you 
have done me the honor to address to me, reached my 
residence during my absence from home, and was not re- 

* The term rmnnexatian was frequentlj' used during the canvass, as sy- 
nonj'mous with annexation ; bcc-ause Texas o:-';rinally fi>rine>l part of the 
Louisiana purchilsc, and bolong^'d to the Uuitcd States. 



1844.] LETTER ON ANNEXATION. 121 

ceived until yesterday. Accompanying your letter you 
transmit to me, as you state, "a copy of the proceedings 
of a very large meeting of the citizens of Cincinnati, as- 
sembled on the 29th ult., to express their settled opposi- 
tion to the annexation of Texas to the United States." 
You request from me an explicit expression of opinion 
upon this question of annexation. Having at no time 
entertained opinions upon public subjects ^vhich I was 
unwilling to avow, it gives me pleasure to comply with 
the request. I have no hesitation in declaring, that 
I am in favor of the immediate reiimiexation of Texas to 
the territory and government of the United States. I 
entertain no doubts as to the power or expediency of the 
reannexation. The proof is fair and satisfactory to my 
own mind, that Texas once constituted a part of the ter- 
ritory of the United States., the title to which I regard to 
have been indisputable as that to any portion of our ter- 
ritory. At the time the negotiation was opened with a 
view to acquire the Floridas, and the settlement of other 
questions, and pending that negotiation, the Spanish Gov- 
ernment itself was satisfied of the validity of our title, 
and was ready to recognize a line far west of the Sabine 
as the true western boundary of Louisiana, as defined by 
the treaty of 1803 with France, under which Louisiana 
was acquired. This negotiation, which had at first 
opened at Madrid, was broken off and transferred to 
Washington, where it was resumed, and resulted in the 
treaty with Florida, by which the Sabine was fixed on as 
the western boundary of Louisiana. From the ratifica- 
tion of the treaty of 1803 with France, until the treaty of 
1819, with Spain, the territory now constituting the Re- 
6 



122 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1844 

public of Texas, belonged to the United States. In 1819 
the Florida treaty was concluded at Washington, hj Mr. 
John Q. Adams, (the Secretary of State,) on the part of 
the United States, and Don Luis de Onis on the part of 
Spain ; and by that treaty this territory lying west of the 
Sabine, and constituting Texas, was ceded by the United 
States to Spain. The Rio del Norte, or some more west- 
ern boundary than the Sabine, could have been obtained, 
had it been insisted on by the American Secretary of 
State, and by increasing the consideration paid for the 
Floridas. In my judgment, the country west of the Sa- 
bine, and now called Texas, was most unwisely ceded 
away. It is a part of the great valley of the Mississippi, 
directly connected by its navigable waters with the Mis- 
sissippi river : and having once been a part of our Union, 
it should never have been dismembered from it. The 
Government and people of Texas, it is understood, not 
only give their consent, but are anxiously desirous to be 
reunited to the United States. If the application of 
Texas for a reunion and admission into our Confederacy, 
shall be rejected by the United States, there is imminent 
danger that she will become a dependency if not a colony 
of Great Britain — an event which no American patriot, 
anxious for the safety and prosperity of this country, 
could permit to occur without the most strenuous resist- 
ance. Let Texas be reannexed, and the authority and 
laws of the United States be established and maintained 
tvithin her limits, as also in the Oregon Territory, and 
let the fixed policy of our Government be, not to permit 
Great Britain or any other foreign power to plant a col 
j)ny or hold dominion over any portion of the people oi 
territory of either. 



1844.] THE TEXAS QUESTION. 123 

These are my opinions ; and without deeming it neces- 
sary to extend this letter, by assigning the many reasons 
Avhich influence me in the conclusions to which I come, I 
regret to be compelled to differ so widely from the views 
expressed by yourselves, and the meeting of citizens of 
Cincinnati whom you represent. Differing, however, 
with you and with them as I do, it was due to frankness 
that I should be thus explicit in the declaration of my 
opinions. 

I am, with great respect. 

Your obedient servant, 

James K. Polk. 

To Messrs. S. P. Chase, Thomas Heaton, &c., &c., 
Committee, Ciucinnati. 

Mr. Polk concurred in the opinion entertained, and 
expressed on various occasions, by the most distinguished 
statesmen and diplomatists of the United States — by 
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Livingston, Clay, Adams, , 
Jackson, and Van Buren — that Texas formed part of 
Louisiana, and was included in the territory ceded to the 
American government by France in 1803. La Salle, a 
Frenchman, was the first white man that descended the 
Mississippi river to its mouth, and " the first to display 
the lily of France to the winds df that imperial valley." 
The first white colony, too, planted in Texas, was estab- 
lished by the French, under La Salle, on the bay of St. 
Bernard, or Matagorda, in the year 1685.* The Span- 
iards, indeed, claimed that the country formed part of 
the conquest of Cortes, and in 1690 they drove out the 

* Marbois' History of Louisiana, p. 107. 



124 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1844 

French colony, and made their first permanent settlement 
at San Francisco ; but the French always insisted upon 
their prior right of discovery, and the early Spanish ge- 
ographers seemed more than half disposed to concede it.*" 
Texas "was included in the grant made by Louis XIV. 
to Crozat, Marquis du Chatel, in 1712. f It was suj^se- 
quently ceded to Spain, in 17G1, and in 1800 retroceded 
to France, as a part of Louisiana, by the treaty of San 
Ildefonso. Such, at least, Avas the understanding of the 
French government, and of the American plenipotentia- 
ries, J; when the treaty of 1803 was concluded, by which 
the United States acquired all " the rights and appurte- 
nances " belonging to France under or by virtue of the 
treaty of San Jldefonso.§ The Spanish government, with 
the tenacity peculiar to their national character, still 
urged their claims, and were desirous of limiting the 
United States to the valley of the Mississippi proper. A 
protracted negotiation ensued between them and Spain. 

« The latter was inclined to surrender all her pretensions 
to the territory extending westward from the Mississippi 
to the Rio Grande ;|l but this was rendered unnecessary, 

• as the government of the United States consented to re- 
nounce its rights west of the Sabine river, in considera- 
tion of the cession of the Floridas, by the treaty of 
1819.11 And, what is a remarkable feature in this ne- 

* Diccionario Geografico-Historico de las Indias Occidentales o Ame- 
rica, (Madrid, 1789,) v. " Louisiana." 
t 1 Laws, 439. 

I Marbois' History of Louisiana, p. 107, et seq. 
§ Lyman's Diplomacy, vol. i, p. 399. 

II Expose of Hon. George W. Erving, American Minister to Spain. 
TT Elliott's Diplomatic Code, vol. i., p. 417. 



.1844.J HIS VIEWS. 125 

gotiation, when the Spanish minister, Don Luis de Onis, 
who haci concluded the treaty on the part of his govern- 
ment, returned home, he boasted that he had obtained a 
, great advantage, by his superior tact and ability. 

The cession of Texas, or the renunciation of the Amer- 
ican claim, in 1819, was, in the opinion of Mr. Polk, 
most unwisely made ; and he heartily approved of the 
efforts of John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, 
during their respective administrations, to recover the 
territory thus surrendered. He therefore favored the 
reiicquisition, or reannexation of Texas, when the meas- 
ure was first proposed. It was desirable, in his estima- 
tion, in a geographical point of view, because the territo- 
ry formed a most valuable part of the valley of the Mis- 
sissippi ; and highly important, in a military aspect, for 
the security of New Orleans, the great commercial mart 
in the southwestern part of the Union, which would be 
endangered, in time of war, by a hostile power being in 
such close proximity, and having the control of the upper 
waters of the Red river, by which it could be approach- 
ed, or seriously menaced, in the rear. 

There was but one question of doubt connected Avitli 
tlie proposition for the annexation of Texas ; and that.; 
was, in what manner, and to what extent, it would affect 
the relations of the United States with Mexico, already on 
a most unfriendly footing. But the difficulty which this 
question presented, was rather apparent than real. .Un- 
der the Spanish colonial government, Texas was a separ- 
ate and distinct province, having a separate and distinct 
local organization ; and it remained in that condition un- 
til its temporary union with Coahuila, with which it 
formed the '_', State of Coahuila j Tejas." 



126 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1844. 

Texas " was one of the unities that composed the gen- 
eral mass of the nation, and as such participate! in the 
war of the Revolution, and was represented in the Con- 
stituent Congress of Mexico that formed the constitution ' 
of 1824. This Constituent Congress, so far from de- 
stroying this unity, expressly recognized and confirmed it, 
by the law of May 7th, 1824, which united Texas Avith 
Coahuila provisionally, under the especial guarantee of 
being made a state of the Mexican confederation as soon 
as it possessed the necessary elements. That law and 
the federal constitution gave to Texas a specific political 
existence, and vested in its inhabitants special and defined 
rights, which can only be relinquished by the people of 
Texas acting for themselves as a unit}'- and not as a part 
of Coahuila, for the , reason that the union with Coahuila 
was limited, and only gave power to the state of Coahuila 
and Texas to govern Texas for the time being, hut al- 
ways subject to the vested rights of Texas. The state, 
therefore, cannot relinquish those vested rights, by agree- 
ing to the change of government, or by any other act, 
unless expressly authorized by the people of Texas to do 
so ; neither can the general government of Mexico legally 
deprive Texas of them without the consent of this peo- 
ple."* Under the constitution of Coahuila and Texas, 
also, the latter was absolutely " free and independent of 
the other united Mexican States. "f 

The history of the revolution in Texas must be familiar 
to every American reader, and it is therefore unnecessary 

* Speech of Colonel Austin, quoted in Foole's Texas and the Texans, 
vol. ii., J). 62. 
t Kennedy's Texas, vol. ii.,p. 444. 



1844.] . REVOLUTION IN TEXAS. 127 

to present here thg details of that memorable struggle. 
In 1833, the people of Texas adopted a state constitu- 
tion, and in accordance with the guarantee of 1824, ap 
plied for admission into the Mexican confederacy as a 
separate state. The request was denied, by the authori- 
ties of the general government of Mexico, and that under 
circumstances, and in a manner, which reflected lasting 
disgrace upoii them. Two years later the confederacy 
was dissolved, and a consolidated government established 
in its stead, in October, 1835, \ij the dictator Santa 
Anna. The confederation being broken, each one of its 
members was from that moment absolved from all alle- 
giance to the central authority. Availing herself of her 
indisputable right and^rivilege, Texas promptly refused 
to acquiesce in the new order of things, and by a solemn 
decree proclaimed her independence of the central gov- 
ernment of Mexico.* This declaration was maintained 
by force of arms ; . and on the 21st of April, 1836, the 
last considerable army ever sent by Mexico to subjugate 
Texas, was completely vanquished and overthrown, on 
the banks of the San Jacinto. 

From this time forth, the efforts of Mexico to reduce 
Texas to submission to her power and authority, were 
confined, to border forays and predatory incursions, in 
which acts of wanton cruelty and injustice, unworthy of 
a civilized nation, were committed by the officers of her 
armies. Yet they found it utterly impossible to obtain 
undisturbed possession of any portion of the territory 
north of the Rio Grande, which Texas now claimed to be 
her southern and western boundary, and below the moun- 
* Kennedy's Texas, vol. ii, pp. 61, 89, 111. 



128 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1844, 

ta incus barriers at El Paso ; and each year that rolled 
bj, only served to demonstrate more clearly, the inability 
of Mexico to subdue the people of Texas. 

The independence which Texas had achieved, was ac- 
knowledged by the government of the United States, in 
March, 1837, and shortly afterward, by England, 
France, Holland, and Belgium. This acknowledgment 
only admitted that Texas was de facto independent, and 
left the question, whether or no she was a de jure gov- 
ernment, to be determined by subsequent events. But 
after six years had passed without any serious efforts 
laving been made by Mexico to conquer Texas, the 
American Secretary of State instructed the representa- 
,ive of his government in the former country, that the 
United States regarded Texas as an independent state, 
equally with Mexico, and as forming " no part of the 
territory of Mexico." " From the time," said the dis- 
patch, " of the battle of San Jacinto, in April, 1836, to 
the present moment, Texas has exhibited the same exter- 
nal signs of national independence as Mexico herself, and 
with quite as much stability of government. Practically 
free and independent, acknowledged as a political sov- 
ereignty by the principal powers of the world, no hostile 
foot finding rest within her territory for six or seven 
years, and Mexico herself refraining for all that period 
from any further attempt to reestablish her own authority 
over the territory."* 

This affirmation, authoritatively made by the American 
government, of the principle, that a revolted province, 
by maintaining a successful resistance to the authority 
* Dispatch of Mr. Webster, July 8, 1842. 



1844.J RIGHTS OF MEXICO. 129 

of the mother country — admitting that such was the re- 
lationship between Mexico and Texas, as was claimed by 
the former — for a period of six or seven years, acquired 
the right to be regarded, for all and every purpose, as an 
independent nation, was communicated to the Mexican 
authorities. A feeble and puerile effort was then made 
to subjugate Texas, but hke all former attempts, it ter- 
minated in disaster and disgrace. General Woll crossed 
the Rio Grande at three different times, in the fall of 
1842, and succeeded in capturing a Texan court, jury, 
lawyer, witnesses, and a few spectators, whom he found 
in session at San Antonio de Bexar ; but when the alarm 
was given that the Texan troops Avere approaching, the 
marauding parties under his command fled across the 
Rio Grande, as if some avenging demon was upon their 
track. 

So ended the attempt of Mexico to extend her supreme 
authority over the soil and the people of Texas ; and in 
view of these historical facts, how can it be contended for 
a moment, that she had the least right to complain of the 
United States, for entering into negotiations for the ac- 
quisition of Texas, without reference to, or consultation 
with her 1 Whatever claims she might originally have 
had, her utter inability to maintain them was so palpable, 
that when she again announced her intention to enforce 
them, it excited the ridicule of all Christendom. Let it 
be conceded even, that Texas was a revolted state, and 
not a seceder from a confederacy which had been violent- 
ly ruptured by an usurper. She had defied the power 
of the mother country — she had achieved her independ- 
ence ; and the fact that she was so independent, had 
6* 



130 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1844. 

been duly acknowledged by most of the great powers of 
the world. Will it be argued, that Mexico should her- 
self have acknowledged that independence, and abandoned 
her claims 1 Centuries might have elapsed, — this might 
never have been done, — and yet not a single Mexican 
soldier dared to set his foot on the left bank of the 
Rio Grande for purposes of conquest. Was the author- 
ity of Cromwell during the Protectorate, or of the Em- 
pire under Napoleon, ever questioned, because the dy- 
nasties which they had overthrown had not acknowledged 
that authority '? William III. and Louis Philippe were at 
the head of revolutionary governments, but Avas the royal 
power ever gainsayed, because the Stuarts or the elder 
branch of the Bourbon family had not surrendered their 
claims 1 Who ever contended, tha4; the treaties concluded 
by Holland for half a century prior to the recognition of 
her independence by Spain, by the United States pre- 
vious to 1T83, or by the South American States before 
they were acknowledged to be independent by the mother 
countries, were void and of no effect 1 Did Mexico, in- 
deed, entertain any scruples when she entered into a 
treaty with the United States, regulating the boundaries 
of her territory, in the year 1828, and long before Spain 
recognized her independence 1 

It was not only desirable that Texas should be annexed, 
in the opinion of Mr. Polk, but he thought it should be 
done immediately, for these reasons : While the treaty 
of 1844 was under consideration in the Senate of the 
United States, all the official correspondence between 
the representatives of the two governments was most un- 
advisedly made public ; and from this it appeared, that 



1844.] DESIGNS OF ENGLAND. 131 

the protracted war in which Texas had been engaged, had 
completely exhausted her resources. It was to be appre- 
hended, therefore, if her overtures for annexation should 
be rejected — as had previously been the case, on several 
occasions, when she applied for admission into the Ameri- 
can Union — that the fear lest the unwise disclosure of her 
weakness would invite fresh hostilities on the part of Mexi- 
co, which she was not in a condition to resist, would induce 
her to seek a permanent alliance with some foreign power. 
England had for years cast a longing eye upon Texas, 
and she had refused to unite with France and the United 
States, in a joint effort to procure the recognition of the 
independence of the young republic by Mexico. From 
the extensive forests of live oak that dotted the surface 
of Texas, she hoped to procure an abundance of ship 
timber for the uses of her navy, and from its rich interval 
lands and wide-spreading prairies, an inexhaustible sup- 
ply of cotton for her manufactories. For the latter she 
had long been dependent on the United States, and she 
desired to be freed from that condition of dependence. She 
attempted to raise cotton in Egypt, in Demerara, and in 
India, but her schemes entirely failed ; and as a last re- 
sort she turned her attention toward Texas. A commer- 
cial treaty was formed with her, soon after her independ- 
ence was acknowledged by the United States, under 
the operation of which the exports of the latter to Texas 
fell off over three-fourths within the short space 
of three years. It may be doubted, whether England 
desired to bring Texas under her sway as a colony, but 
that she designed to make her a commercial dependency . 
is apparent. • 



132 JAxMES KNOX POLK. [1844. 

Moreover, the British government, through her speak- 
ers on the floor of Parliament,* and the dispatches and 
official correspondence of her ministers,! avowed a desire 
to procure the abolition of domestic slavery in Texas. 
The object which she had in view was obvious ; and the 
safety and tranquillity of the Southern States of the Union 
demanded that her emissaries should not be suffered to 
carry out their schemes, and that her authority should 
not be felt or acknowledged, in a territory lying close 
upon their borders. 

When the Texas question was presented in this man- 
ner to the American people, public men, and the parties 
to which -they belonged, arrayed themselves upon one 
side or the other. Tlie whig party at the north oppos- 
ed the annexation, because, as they alleged, it would be 
an act of bad faith toward Mexico ; because the debt of 
Texas, said to amount to ten or twelve millions of dollars, 
was to be assumed by the United States ; and because 
tliey were opposed to the extension or increase of the 
slave territory. At the south, the whigs were divided ; 
one portion of them advocating the annexation, and the 
other portion concurring with their party friends at the 
-north upon the first two grounds of objection. The dem- 
;,ocratic party generally favored the annexation ; but a 
-portion of the party at the north, and a few of its mem- 
..bers residing in the slave states, opposed it — some for 
all the reasons put forth by the whigs, but the greater 
number on account of the position of Texas with refer- 

* Conversation between Lord Brougliam and Lord Aberdeen, in the 
House of Lords.— London Morning Chronicle, Augast 19, 1843. 
t Senate Doc. 341, 1st Session, 28ttf Congress, p. 27, et seq. 



1844.] THE BALflMORE CONVENTION. 133 

ence to Mexico. Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Clay agreed 
very nearly in their opinions. Botli expressed themselves 
in favor of the acquisition of Texas, if the American 
people desired it, provided, however, that ihe consent of 
Mexico should be obtained, or, at least, that efforts should 
be made to procure it ; and neither of them objected to 
the annexation on account of the slavery question collat- 
erally connected witli it.* 

In the midst of the commotion produced by the agita- 
tion of the Texas question, the national democratic con- 
vention assembled at Baltimore, on the 27th clay of May, 
1844. Until the publication of his Texas letter, Mr. 
Van Buren had been by far the most prominent candi- 
date ; but when the Convention met, Lewis Cass, of 
Michigan, Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, James 
Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, arid Levi Woodbury, of New 
Hampshire, all of whom were in favor of the immediate 
annexation of Texas, v/ere supported for the presidential 
nomination by their respective friends, with greater or 
less earnestness. Immediately after the organization of 
the Convention, a rule was adopted, in accordance with 
the precedents established by the conventions of 1832 and 
1835, requiring a vote of two-thirds to secure a nomina- 
tion. Mr. Van Buren received a majority of. the votes 
on the first ballot ; seven additional ballotings were then 
had, but at no time did he receive a vote of two-thirds ;. 
whereupon his name was withdrawn by the New York 
delegation. The delegates opposed to his nomination,' 
after the first ballot, concentrated their strength mainly 

* Letter of Mr. Van Buren to Mr. Hammett, April 20th, 18-14.— Letter 
,of Mr. Clay from Raleigh ; to Mr. Miller, July 1st, 1844 ; to Messrs. Pe- 
ters and .Tackpoii. July 27, 1844. 



134r JAMES KNOX FOLK. [1844. 

upon Mr- Cass ; but as the friends of Mr. Van Buren 
numbered more than one-third of the Convention, and 
were irreconcilably hostile to the selection of any of the 
other candidates originally proposed, it was apparent that 
no nomination could be made without their consent. 

The name of Mr. Polk had been freely spoken of in 
connection with the vice-presidency, and when the con- 
vention found itself in this dilemma, a number of his 
friends amon<j the delegates voted for him on the ei2;hth 
ballot as the presidential candidate. All conceded his 
unquestioned ability and talents, and the mention of his 
name operated like magic. Harmony Avas instantly re- 
stored. On the ninth ballot he received nearly all the 
votes of the members of the Convention, and the vote 
was subsequently made unanimous. The nomination for 
the vice-presidency was tendered with great unanimity to 
Silas Wright, of New York, a distinguished friend of 
Mr. Van Buren, but it was declined ; and Geovgc M. 
Dallas, of Pennsylvania, was then put in nomination. 
The closing proceedings of the Convention were marked 
by great good feeling and enthusiasm, and when the mem- 
bers separated, the joy and satisfaction that filled their 
hearts, was manifested by their words, and depicted on 
their countenances. 

The nomination of Mr. Polk was communicated to him 
by a committee appointed by the Convention. Unex- 
pected as was the honor thus conferred upon liim; lie 
would have been more than mortal had he declined it. 
In reply to the committee he returned the subjouied let- 
ter of acceptance, in which he avowed his firm determi- 
nation, in the event of his election, not to be again a can- 
didate. 



1844.] LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 135 

Columbia, Tenn., June 12, 1844. 

Gentlemex : — I have had the honor to receive your letter 
of the 29th ultimo, informing me that the democratic national 
convention, then assembled at Baltimore, had designated mc 
to be the candidate of the democratic party for President of 
the United States, and that I had been unanimously nomi- 
nated for that office. 

It has been well observed, that the office of President of 
tlie United States should never be sought nor dcchned. I 
have never sought it, nor shall I feel at liberty to decline it, 
if conferred upon me by the voluntary suffrages of my fellow- 
citizens. In accepting the nomination, I am deeply impressed 
with the distinguished honor which has been confen-ed upon 
me by ray republican friends, and am duly sensible of the 
great and mighty responsibilities which must ever devolve on 
any citizen who may be called to fill the high station of Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

1 deem the present to be a proper occasion to declare, that 
if the nomination made by the convention shall be confirmed 
by the people, and result in my election, I shall enter upon 
the discharge of the high and solemn duties of the office with 
the settled purpose of not being a candidate for reelection. 
In the event of my election, it shall be my constant aim, by 
a strict adherence to the old republican landmarks, to main- 
tain and preserve the public prosperity, and at the end of 
four years, L am resolved to retire to private life. In assum- 
ing this position, I feel that I not only impose on myself a 
salutary restraint, but that I take the most effective means in 
my power of enabling the democratic party to make a free 
selection of a successor who may be best^calculated to give 
effect to their will, and ffuard all the interests of our beloved 
country. 

With great respect, I have the honor to be. 
Your ob't servant, 

James K. Polk. 
To Messrs. He>;ey Hubbaed, Wm. H. Roane, &c., &o. 



136 JAMES KNOX POLK. - [1844. 

Prior to its adjournment, the Baltimore Convention 
adopted a series of resolutions, setting forth the princi- 
ples that distinguished them as a party. By the accept- 
ance of their nomination, Mr. Polk signified his approba 
tion of those resolutions, and they are therefore inserted 
here : 

RESOLUTIOXS OF THE BALTIMORE CONVEXTIOX. 

Resolved, That the American Democracy place their trust, 
not in factitious symbols, not in displays and appeals insult- 
in'o- to the judgments and subversive of the intellect of the 
people, but in a clear reliance upon the intelligence, the pat- 
liotism, and the discriminating justice of the American 
masses. 

Resolved, That Ave regard this as a distinctive feature oi 
our political creed, Avhich we are proud to maintain before 
the Avorld as the great moral element in a form of govern- 
ment springing from and upheld by the popular Avill ; Ave 
contrast it Avith the creed and practice of Federalism, under 
AAdiatever name or form, Avhich seeks to palsy the Avill of the 
constituent, and Avhich conceives no imposture tt>o raoastrous 
for the popular credulity. 

Resolved, therefore, That, entertaining these vifcA's, the 
Democratic party of this Union, through tlieir delegates as- 
sembled in a general convention of the States, ci>raing to- 
o-ether in a spirit of concord, of devotion to the doccrines and 
faith of a free representative government, and appealing to 
their felloAv-citizens for the rectitude of their intentions, renOAV 
and reassert before the American people, the declaration of 
principles avoAved by them, Avhen on a former occasion, in 
general convention, they presented their candidates for the 
popular suffrages : 

1. That the Federal Government is one of limited powers, 
derived solely from the Constitution, and the grants of power 
shoAvn therein, ought to be strictly construed by all the de- 



1844. J RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONVENTION. 13Y 

■ partments and agents of the government, and that it is inex- 
pedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional 
powers, 

2. That the Constitution does not confer upon the General 
Government the power to commence and carry on a general 
system of internal improvement. 

3. That the Constitution does not confer authority upon 
the Federal Government, directly or indirectly, to assume the 
debts of the several States, contracted for local internal im- 
provements, or otlwr State purposes; nor would such as- 
sumption be just and expedient. 

4. That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal Gov- 
ernment to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of 
another, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the inju- 
ry of another portion of our common country — that ever}^ 
citizen, and every section of tlic country, has a right to de- 
mand and insist upon an equality of riglits and privileges, and 
a complete and ample protection of persons and property 
from domestic violence or foreign aggression. 

5. That it is the duty of every branch of the government 
to enforce and practice the most rigid economy in conducting 
our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be 
raised than is required to defray the necessary expenses of 
the government. 

6. That Congi'ess has no power to charter a National 
Bank ; that we believe such an institution one of deadly hos- 
tility to the best interests of the country, dangerous to our 
Republican institutions and the liberties of the people, and 
calculated to place the business of the country within tlie 
control of a concentrated money power, and above the laws 
and the will of the people. 

7. That Congress has no power under the Constitution, to 
interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the sev- 
eral States, and that such States are the sole and proper 
judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs, not 
prohibited by the Constitution ; that all efforts of the Abo- 



138 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1844 

litionists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with 
the question of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation 
thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dan- 
gerous consequences, and that all such efforts have an inevi- 
table tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and 
endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and 
ought not to be countenanced by any friend to our political 
institutions. 

8. That the separation of the moneys of the Government 
from banking institutions, is indispensable for the safety of 
the funds of the Government, and the rights of the people. 

9. That the liberal principles embodied by Jefferson in the 
Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the Consti- 
tution, which makes ours the land of Liberty, and the usjlum 
of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal 
principles in the democratic faith ; and every attempt to 
abridge the present privilege of becoming citizens and the 
owners of soil among us, ought to be resisted with the same 
spirit which swept the alien and sedition laws from our stat- 
ute book. 

Resolved, That the proceeds of the public lands ought to 
be sacredly applied to the national objects specified in tiie 
Constitution ; and that we are opposed to the law lately 
adopted, and to any law for the distribution of such proceeds . 
among the States, as alike inexpedient in policy and repug- 
nant to the Constitution. 

Resolved, That we are decidedly opposed to taking from 
the President the qualified Veto power, by which he is 
enabled, under restrictions and responsibilities, amply suffi- 
cient to guard the public interest, to suspend the passage of 
a bill, whose merits cannot secure the approval of two-thirds 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, until the judg- 
ment of the people can be obtained thereon, and which has 
thrice saved the American people from the corrupt and tyran- 
nical domination of a Bank of the United States. 

Resolved, That our title to the whole of the Territory of 



1844. J THE ELECTION. 139 

Oregon is clear and unquestionable ; that no portion of the 
same ought to be ceded to England or any other power ; that 
the reoccupation of Oregon and the reannexation of Texas at 
the earliest practicable period/ are great American measures, 
v/hich this Convention recommends to the cordial support of 
the Democracy of the Union. 

The candidates selected bj tlie whig party, in opposi- 
tion to the democratic nominees, were Henry Clay, of 
Kentucky, for president, and Theodore Frelinghiiysen, 
of New Jersey, for vice-president. Mr. Tyler, the then 
president, was also put in nomination for the presidency, 
by a convention of his friends, but ho subsequently with- 
drew his name and gave his support to the democratic 
ticket. 

The nomination of Mr. Polk was not only well re- 
ceived ; a spirit of enthusiasm, that could not fail to tri- 
umph, was instantly aroused in his favor. As General 
Jackson had received the appellation of " Old Hickory," 
so that of " Young Hickory " was applied to Mr. Polk, 
who resembled his distinguished friend of the Hermitage 
in his firmness and independence of character. The 
election was conducted with great spirit and animation. 
Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Cass, with the other candi- 
dates before the national convention, and their friends, 
cordially supported the ticket. Mass meetings were held 
in every county, and processions, with music and ban- 
ners, were daily seen traversing the roads and by-ways 
of the interior,. or threading the crowded thoroughfares 
of our large towns and cities. 

It had been usual to subject the private character of 
candidates to a scathing ordeal. This is one of the evils, 



140 JAMES KXOX POLK. [1844. 

among the many advantages, of our system of elections. 
But the purity of Mr. Polk's life disarmed scandal of her 
weapons. In this respect he was unassailed and unas- 
sailable. 

This political contest, however, was not all show and 
display. There were great and important principles at 
stake, and they were in general frankly avowed, and fairly 
and honorably discussed. On the one side, the whigs sup- 
ported as their candidate, the father and champion of 
the American sx'stem ; they were committed in favor of 
a national bank, a protective tariff, the distribution of 
the proceeds of the public lands, and an extensive system 
of internal improvements ; and they opposed the annexa- 
tion of Texas. On the other hand, Mr. Polk had signal- 
ized the commencement of his public career, by his oppo- 
sition to the system of measures 'advocated by Mr. Clay ; 
and the democratic party were opposed to the incorpora- 
tion of a national bank, to the distribution of the proceeds 
of the public lands, and to the prosecution b}' the general 
government of an extensive system of internal improve- 
ments ; they were in favor of the annexation of Texas, 
and of a tariff in which revenue should be the primary, 
and protection the secondary feature. Individual excep- 
tions there were to this general statement in regard to the 
political complexion of the two great parties, — as various 
shades of opinion are always found in such organizations, 
but they were comparatively few. 

In Tennessee the election was exceedingly close. I\Ir. 
Polk gained largely upon the democratic vote in 1840 ; 
his majority was over seven hundred in ]\Iaury county, 
being three hundred more than at the gubernatorial elec- 



1844.] RECEPTION AT NASHVILLE. 141 

tion of the previous year ; but the Clay electoral ticket 
succeeded in the state by the diminutive majority of one 
hundred and twenty-four. In the electoral colleges, Mr. 
Polk received one hundred and seventy votes, and Mr. 
Clay one hundred and five.* The majority of Mr. Polk 
over his distinguished competitor, on the popular vote, 
was about forty thousand, exclusive of the vote of South 
Carolina, whose electors are chosen by the state legisla- 
ture. The total vote was a little less than two million 
seven hundred thousand. 

On the 28th of November — the result of the election 
beino; then known — ]\Ir. Polk visited Nashville, and was 
honored with a public reception by his democratic friends, 
together with a number of their opponents in the late 
contest, Avho cheerfully united with them in paying due 
honors to the President elect of the people's choice. A 
brilliant civic and military procession escorted him to 
the public square in front of the Court-house, where he 
was addressed by the Hon. A. O. P. Nicholson, on behalf 
of the large assembly, that had collected to welcome him 
to the seat of government. To the address of Mr, Nich- 
olson, congratulating him -on his success, and assuring 
him of the high respect and admiration entertained for 
his intellectual capacity and his private virtues by the 
people of Tennessee, to whom he had been so long en- 
deared, Mr. Polk returned the following reply, not more 

* INIr. Polk received the electoral votes of ]\Iaine, Xew Hampshire, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mis- 
sissippi, Louisiana, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas; 
and Mr. Clay those of Vermont, IMassachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- 
cut, Xew Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ken- 
tucky, and Ohio. 



142 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1844. 

honorable to his talents than to his kindness and generos- 
ity of heart : 

" I return to you, sir, and to my fellow-citizens, whose 
organ you are, my sincere and unfeigned thanks for this man- 
ifestation of the popular regard and confidence, and for the 
congratulations Avhich you have been pleased to express to 
me, upon the tennination and result of the late political con- 
test. I am fully sensible, that these congratulations are not, 
and cannot be personal to myself. It is the eminent success 
of our common principles which has spread such general joy 
over the land. The political struggle through Avhich the 
country has just passed has been deeply exciting. Extraor- 
dinary causes have existed to make it so. It has terminated 
— it is now over — and I sincerely hope and believe, has been 
decided by the sober and settled judgment of the American 
people. 

" In exchanging mutual congratulations with each othev 
tipon the result of the late election, the Democratic party 
should remember, in calmly reviewing the contest, that the 
portion of our fellow-citizens Avho have differed with us in 
opinion have equal political rights with ourselves ; that mi- 
norities as well as majorities are entitled to the full and free 
exeixise of all their opinions and judgments, and that the 
rio-hts of all, whether of minorities or majorities, as such, are 
entitled to equal respect and regard. 

" In rejoicing, therefore, over the success of the Demo- 
cratic party, and of their principles, in the late election, it 
should be in no spirit of exultation over the defeat of our op- 
ponents ; but it should be because, as we honestly believe, 
our principles and policy are better calculated than theirs to 
promote the true interests of the whole country. 

" In the political position in which I have been placed, by 
the voluntary and unsought suffrages of my fellow-citizens, it 
will become my duty, as it will be my pleasure, faithfully and 



1845. j JOURNLY TO WASHINGTON. 



143 



truly to represent, in the Executive department of the gov- 
ernment, the principles and policy of the great party of the 
country who have elected me to it ; but at the same time, it 
is proper to declare, that I shall not regard myself as the 
renresentative of a party only, but of the whole people of 
the United States.; and, I trust, that the future pohcy of the 
government may be such, as to secure the happiness and 
prosperity of all, without distinction of party." 

In the evening of the 23th, a number of public and pri- 
vate houses were illuminated. Hilarity and glee pre- 
vailed on every hand ; joy sparkled in every eye and 
beamed on every countenance ; and the festivities of the 
day were protracted till a late hour. 

Mr. Polk left his home in Tennessee, on his way to 
Washington, toward the latter part of January, 1845. 
He was accompanied on his journey by Mrs. Polk, and 
several personal friends. On the 31st instant, he had a 
long private interview at the Hermitage, with his vener- 
ble^'friend, Andrew Jackson. The leave-taking was af- 
fectionate and impressive, for each felt conscious, that, in 
all probability, it was a farewell forever. It was the 
son, in the pride of manhood, going forth to fulfil his 
high destiny, from the threshold of his political godfa- 
ther, whose trembling Jips, palsied with the touch of age, 
could scarce invoke the benediction which his heart 
would prompt. Ere another harvest moon shed its holy 
lip-ht upon a spot hal]o^Yed by so many memories and as- 
sociations, the " hero of New Orleans " and the " de- 
fender of the Constitution " slept that sleep which knows 
no waking. A few years passed,— and he to whom that 
parting blessing luid been given, with so fair and bright 



144 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

a promise of a long life before him, had also joined the 
assembly of the dead. Truly, the realities of History 
are sometimes stranger far than the wildest creations of 
Fiction ! 

On the 1st of February, Mr. Polk and suite left Nash- 
ville, and proceeded as rapidly as possible, considering 
the demonstrations of respect with which he was every- 
where received on his route, to the seat of government of 
the nation. For all who approached him — whatever 
might be the condition in life or occupation, the appear- 
ance or dress, of the individual — he had a kind word and 
friendly greeting. When the steamboat, on which he 
proceeded up the Ohio river, stopped at JeflFersonville, 
Indiana, " a plain-looking man came on board," said a 
passenger on thf steamer, "who, from the soiled and 
coarse condition of his dress, seemed just to have left the 
plough handles, or spade, in the field. He pressed for- 
ward through tlie saloon of the boat, to where the Presi- 
dent was standing, in conversation Avith a circle of gen- 
tlemen, through which he thrust himself, making directly 
for the President, and offering his hand, which was re- 
ceived with cordial good will. Says the farmer, * How 
do you do, Colonel 7 I am glad to see you. I am a 
strong democrat, and did all I could for you. I am the 
father of twenty-six children, who were all for Polk^ 
Dallas^ and Texas .'^ Colonel Polk responded with a- 
smile, saying, he was 'happy to make his acquaintance, 
fe'eling assured that he deserved well of his country', if 
for no other reason than because he Avas the father of so 
large a republican family." 

The President elect with his party arrived at Wash- 



1845.J HIS INAUGURATION. 145 

mgton on the loth of February, and was immediately 
waited upon by a Committee of the two Houses of Con- 
gress, who informed him that the returns from the electo- 
ral colleges had been opened, and the ballots counted, on 
the previous day ; and that he had been declared duly 
elected President of the United States. He thereupon 
signified his acceptance of the office to which he had been 
chosen by the people, and desired the Committee to con- 
vey to Congress his assurances, that " in executing the 
responsible duties which would devolve upon him, it would 
be his anxious desire to maintain the honor an,d promote 
the welfare of the country." , 

On the 4th day of March, 1845, IMr. Polk was inau- 
gurated President of the United States. An immense 
concourse of people assembled ^at Washington — every 
quarter of the Union bcmg well represented — to witness 
the imposing ceremony. The morning was wet and low- 
ery ; but the spirits of the spectators were proof against 
the unfavorable influences of the weather. All parties 
joined in the appropriate observance of the day, and the 
national standard floated proudly from the flag-staffs of 
both democrats and whigs. 

About eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the procession 
moved from the quarters of the President elect, at Cole- 
man's Hotel — Mr. Polk and his predecessor, Mr. Tyler, 
riding together in an open carriage. Arrived at the cap- 
itol, the President elect and the ex-president entered the 
Senate Chamber. Here a procession was formed, when 
they proceeded to the platform on the east front of the 
capitol, from which Mr. Polk delivered his inaugural ad- 
dress : 



146 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 



Fellow-Citizens : — Without solicitation on my part, I have 
been chosen by the free and voluntary suffrages of my coun- 
trymen to the most honorable and most responsible office on 
earth. I am deeply impressed with gratitude for the confi- 
dence reposed in me. Honored Avitli this distinguished con- 
sideration at an earlier period of life than any of my prede- 
cessors, I cannot disguise the diffidence with which I am 
about to enter on the discharge of my official duties. 

If the more aged and experienced men who have filled the 
office of President of the United States, even in the infancy 
of the Republic, distrusted their ability to discharge the du- 
ties of that exalted station, what ought not to be the appre- 
hensions of one so much younger and less endowed, now that 
our domain extends from ocean to ocean, that our people 
have so greatly increased in numbers, and at a time when so 
great diversity of opinion prevails in regard to the principles 
and policy Avhich should characterize the administration of 
our Government ? AVell may the boldest fear, and the wisest 
tremble, when incurring responsibilities on which may depend 
our country's peace and prosperity, and, in some degree, the 
hopes and happiness of the wliole human family. 

In assuming responsibilities so vast, I fervently invoke the 
aid of the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, in whose hands 
are the destinies of nations and of men, to guard this heaven- 
favored land against the mischiefs which, without His gui- 
dance, mifht arise from an unwise public policy. Witli a 
firm reliance upon the wisdom of Omnipotence to sustain and 
direct me in the path of duty which I am appointed to pur- 
sue, I stand in the presence of the assembled multitude of 
my countiymen, to take upon myself the solemn obligation, 
" to the best of my ability, to preserve, to protect, and defend 
the Constitution of the United States." 



1845. 1 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 147 

A concise enumeration of the principles which will guide 
me in the administration pohcy of the government, is not only 
in accordance with the examples set me by all my predeces- 
sors, but is eminently befitting the occasion. 

The Constitution itself, plainly written as it is, the safe- 
guard of our federative compact, the offspring of conces- 
sion and compromise, binding together in the bonds of peace 
and union this great and increasing family of free and inde- 
pendent States, will be the chart by which I shall be di- 
rected. 

It will be my first care to administer the government in 
the true spirit of that instrument, and to assume no powers 
not expressly granted or clearly implied in its terms. The 
government of the United States is one of delegated and 
limited powers, and it is by a strict adherence to the clearly 
granted powers, and by abstaining from the exercise of doubt- 
ful or unauthorized implied powers, that we have the only 
sure guaranty against the recurrence of those unfortunate 
collisions between the Federal and State authorities, which 
have occasionally so much disturbed the harmony of our 
system, and even threatened the perpetuity of our glorious 
Union. 

" To the States respectively, or to the people," have been 
reserved " the powers not delegated to the United States by 
the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States." Each 
State is a complete sovereignty within the sphere of its re- 
served powers. The government of the Union, acting within 
the sphere of its delegated authority, is also a complete sov- 
ereignty. While the general government should abstain from 
the exercise of authority not clearly delegated to it, the States 
should be equally careful that, in the maintenance of their 
rights, they do not overstep the limits of powers reserved to 
them. One of the most distinguished of my predecessors at- 
tached desei-ved importance to "the support of the State 
governments in all their rights, as the most competent ad- 



148 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845- 

ministration for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwark 
against anti-republican tendencies ;" and to the " preservation 
of the general government in its whole constitutional vigor, as 
the sheet-anchor of omi peace at home, and safety abroad." 

To the government of the United States has been entrust- 
ed the exclusive management of our foreign affairs. Beyond 
that, it wields a few general enumerated powers. It docs not 
force reform on the States. It leaves individuals over whom 
it casts its pi-otecting influence, entirely free to improve their 
own condition by the legitimate exercise of all their mental 
and physical powers. It is a common protector of each and 
all the States ; of every man who lives upon our soil, whether 
of native or foreign birth ; of every religious sect, in their 
worship of the Almighty according to the dictates of their 
own conscience ; of every shade of opinion, and the most free 
inquiry ; of every art, trade, and occupation, consistent with 
the laws of the States. And we rejoice in the general happi- 
ness, prosperity and advancement of our country, which have 
been the offspring of freedom and not of power. 

The most admirable and wisest system of well-regulated 
self-government among men, ever devised by human minds, 
has been tested by its successful operation for more than half 
a century ; and, if preserved from the usurpations of the 
federal government on the one hand ; and the exercise by the 
States of power not reserved to them on the other, will, I 
fervently hope and believe, endure for ages to come, and dis- 
pense the blessings of civil and religious liberty to . distant 
generations. To effect objects so dear to every patriot, I 
shall devote myself with anxious solicitude. It will be my 
desire to guard against that most fruitful source of danger to 
the harmonious action of our system, which consists in sub- 
stituting the mere discretion and caprice of the executive, or 
of majorities in the legislative department of Ihe government, 
for powers which have been Avithheld from the federal gov- 
ernment by the constitution. By the theory of our govern- 



1845. J . • INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 149 

ment, majorities rule ; but tliis right is not an arbitrary or un- 
limited one. It is a right to be exercised in subordination to 
the constitution, and in conformity to it. One great object of 
the constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing 
minorities, or encroaching upon their just rights. .Minorities 
have a vight to appeal to the constitution, as a shield against 
such oj>;>re.ssion. 

That llie blessings of liberty which our constitution secures 
may be enjoyed alike by minorities and majorities, the execu- 
tive has been wisely invested with a qualified veto upon the 
acts of the legislature. It is a negative power, and is conser- 
vative in its character. It arrests for the time hasty, incon- 
siderate, or unconstitutional legislation ; invites reconsidera- 
tion, and transfers questions at issue between the legislative 
and executive departments to the tribunal of the people. 
Like all other powers, it is subject to be abused. When ju- 
diciously and properly exercised, the constitution itself may 
be saved from infraction, and the rights of all preserved and 
protected. 

The inestimable value of our federal Union is felt and ac- 
knowledged by all. By this system of united and confedera- 
ted States, our people are permitted, collectively and indi- 
vidually, to seek their own happiness in their own way ; and 
the consequences have been most auspicious. Since the Union 
was formed, the number of States has increased from thir- 
teen to twenty-eight ; two of these have taken their position 
as members of the confederacy within the last week. Our 
population has increased from three to twenty millions. New 
communities and States are seeking protection under its aegis, 
and multitudes from the Old World are flocking to our shores 
to participate in its blessings. Beneath its benign sway, peace 
and prosperity prevail. Freed from the burdens and miseries 
of war, our trade and intercourse have extended throughout 
the world. Mind, no longer tasked in devising means to ac- 
complish or resist schemes of ambition, usurpation, or con- 



150 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

quest, is devoting itself to man's true interests, in dev^eloping 
his faculties and powers, and the capacity of nature to minis- 
ter to his enjoyments. Genius is free to announce its inven 
tions and discoveries ; and the hand is free to accomplish 
■whatever the head conceives, not incompatible with the rights 
of a fellow-beins:. All distinctions of birth or of rank have 
been abolished. All citizens, whether native or adopted, are 
placed upon terms of precise equahty. All are entitled to 
equal rights and equal protection. Xo union exists between 
Church and State ; and perfect freedom of opinion is guar- 
anteed to all sects and creeds. 

These are some of the blessings secured to our happy land 
by our federal Union. To perpetuate them, it is our sacred 
duty to preserve it. Who shall assign limits to the achieve- 
ments of free minds and free hands, imder the protection of 
this glorious Union ? Xo treason to mankind, since the or- 
ganization of society, would be equal in atrocity to that of 
him who would lift his hand to destroy it. He would over- 
throw the noblest structure of human wisdom, which protects 
himself and his fellow-man. He would stop the progress of 
free government, and involve his country either in anarchy 
or despotism. He would extinguish the fire of liberty which 
warms and animates the hearts of happy millions, and in\dte3 
all the nations of the earth to imitate our example. If he 
say that error and wrong are committed in the administration 
of the orovernment, let him remember that nothingr human 
can be perfect : and that under no other system of govern- 
ment revealed by Heaven, or devised by man, has reason 
been allowed so free and broad a scope to combat error. 

Has the sword of despots proved to be a safer or surer in- 
strument of reform in government than enlightened reason ? 
Does he expect to find among the ruins of this Union a hap- 
pier abode for our swarming millions than th«y now have un- 
der it ? Every lover of his country must shudder at the 
thought of the possibility of its dissolution, and will be ready 



1845-J INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 151 

to adopt the pcatriotic sentiment: "Our federal Union— it 
must be preserv^ed." To presei-ve it, the compromise which 
alone enabled our fathers to form a common constitution for 
the government and protection of so many States, and dis- 
tinct communities, of such diversified habits, interests and do- 
mestic institutions, must be sacredly and religiously observed. 
Any attempt to disturb or destroy these compromises, being 
terms of the compact of Union, can lead to none other than 
the most ruinous and disastrous consequences. 

It is a source of deep regret that, in some sections of our 
country, misguided persons have occasionally indulged in 
schemes and agitations, whose object is the destruction of 
domestic institutions existing in other sections — institutions 
which existed at the adoption of the constitution, and were 
recognized and protected by it. All must see that if it were 
possible for them to be successful in attaining their object, 
the dissolution of the Union, and a consequent destruction of 
our happy form of government, must speedily follow. 

1 am happy to beheve, that at every period of our exist- 
ence as a nation, there b.as existed, nml continues to exist, 
among the great mass of our people, a devotion to the Union 
of the States, Avhich will shield and protect it against the 
moral treason of any who would seriously contemplate its 
destruction. To secure a continuance of that devotion, the 
compromises of the constitution must not only be preserved, 
but sectional jealousies and heartburnings must be discoun- 
tenanced ; and all should remember tliat they are members 
of the same political family, having a common destiny. To 
increase the attachment of our people to the Union, our laws 
should be just. Any policy wliich sliall tend to favor mo- 
nopolies, or the peculiar interests of sections or classes, must 
operate to the prejudice of the intei-ests of their fellow-citi- 
zens, and should be avoided. If the compromises of the con- 
stitution be Reserved, — if sectional jealousies and heartburn- 
ings be discountenanced,— if our laws be .just, and the gov- 



152 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1815. 

ernment be practically administered strictly within the limits 
of power prescribed to it, — Ave may discard all apprehensions 
for the safety of the Union. 

With these views of the nature, character and objects of 
the government, and the value of the Union, I shall steadily 
oppose the creation of those institutions and systems which, 
in their nature, tend to pervert it from its legitimate purposes, 
and make it the instrument of sections, classes, and individu- 
als. We need no National Bank, or other ex-traneous institu- 
tions, planted around the government to control or strengthen 
it in opposition to the will of its authors. Experience has 
taught us how unnecessary they are as auxiliaries of the pub- 
lic authorities, how impotent for good and how powerful for 
mischief. 

Ours was intended to be a. plain and frugal government : 
and I shall regard it to be my duty to recommend to Con- 
gress, and as far as the Executive is concerned, to enforce by 
all the means within ni}' powei", the strictest economy in the 
expenditure of the public money, v/hich may be compatible 
with tlie public interests. 

A national debt has become almi>4 an institution of Euro- 
pean nwnarchies. It is viewed in .b.ime of them, as an essen- 
tial prop to existing governments. Melancholy is the condi- 
tion of that people whose government can be sustained only 
bv a system which periodically transfers large amounts from 
tlie labor of the many to the coffers of the few. Such a 
system is incompatible with the ends for which our republican 
guvernment was instituti-.l-. Under a wise policy, the debts 
contracted in our .re\oiuiion, and during the war of 1812, 
have^beerl happily extinguished. By a judicious apphcation 
of the revenues, not required for other necessary purposes, it 
is not doubted that the debt which has grown out of tlie 
circumstances of tlie last few years m;iy be speedily paid off. 

I congratulate my fellow-citizens on the entire restoration 
of the credit of the o-enei'al D-overnment of the Union, and 



1845.] INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 15B 

that of many of the States. Happy would it be for the in- 
debted States if they were freed from their habihties, many 
of which were incautiously contracted. Although the gov- 
ernment of the Union is neither in a legal nor a moral sense 
bound for the debts of the States, and it would be a violation 
of our compact of Union to assume them, yet we cannot but 
feel a deep interest in seeing all the States meet their public 
liabilities, and pay off their just debts, at the earliest practi* 
cable period. That they will do so, as soon as it can be done 
witliout imposing too heavy burdens on their citizens, there 
is no reason to doubt. The sound moral and honorable feel- 
ing of the people of the indebted States cannot be question- 
ed ; and we are happy to perceive a settled disposition on 
their part, as their ability returns, after a season of unexam- 
pled pecuniary embarrassment, to pay off all just demands, 
and to acquiesce in any reasonable measure to accomplish 
that object. 

One of the diScultics which \vc have had to encounter in 
tlie practical administration of the government, consists in 
the adjustment of our revenue laws, and the levy of taxes 
necessary for the support of government. In the general 
proposition, that no. more money shall be collected than the 
necessities of an economical administration shall require, all. 
parties seem to acquiesce. iS'or does there seem to be any 
I material difference of opinion as to the absence of right in 
i the government to tax one section of country, or one class of 
I citizens, or one occupation, for the mere profit of another. 
' '' Justice and sound pohcy forbid the federal government to 
foster one branch of industry to the detriment of another, or 
to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of anoth- 
er portion of our common country." 

I have heretofore declared to my fellow- citizens that, in 

my "judgment, it is the duty of the government to extend 

as far as may be practicable to do 'so, by its revenue laws, 

and all other means within its power, fair and just protection 

• 7* 



154 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845» 

to all the great interests of the whole Union, embracing agri- 
culture, manufactures, the mechanic arts, commerce and nav- 
igation." I have also declared my opinion to be in " favoi 
of a tariff for revenue," and that in adjusting the details of 
such -A tariff, I have sanctioned such moderate discriminating 
duties as would produce the amount of revenue needed, and 
at the same time, afford reasonable incidental protection to 
our home industry, and that I was " opposed to a tariff for 
protection merely, and not for revenue." 

The power " to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and 
excises," was an indispensable one to be conferred on the 
federal government, which, without it, would possess no means 
of providing for its own support. In executing this power, 
by levying a tariff of duties for the support of government, 
the raising revenue should be the object, and protection the 
incident. To reverse this principle, and make protection the 
object and revenue the incident, woixld be to inflict manifest 
injustice upon all other than the protected interests. In levy- 
ing duties for revenue, it is doubtless proper to make such 
discriminations within the revenue principle, as -will afford in- 
cidental protection to our home interests, AVithin the rev- 
enue limit, there is a discretion to discriminate ; beyond that 
limit, the rightful exercise of the power is not conceded. The 
incidental protection afforded to our home interests by dis- 
crimination within the revenue range, it is believed will be 
ample. In making discriminations, all our home interests 
should, as far as practicable, be equally protected. 

The largest portion of our people are agriculturists. Others 
are employed in manufactures, commerce, navigation, and the 
mechanic arts. They are all engaged in their respective pur- 
suits, and their joint labors constitute the national or home 
industry. To tax one branch of this home industry for the 
benefit of another, Avould be unjust. No one of these inter- 
ests can rightfully claim an advantage over the others, or tc 
be enriched by impoverishing the others. All are equally 



1845.] INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 155 

entitled to the fostering care and protection of the govern- 
ment. In exercising a sound discretion in levying discrimin- 
ating duties, within the limit pi^scribed, care should be taken 
that it be done in a manner not to benefit the wealthy few, 
at the expense of the toiling millions, Wy taxing lowest the 
luxuries of life, or articles of superior quality and high price, 
Avhich can only be consumed by the wealthy : and highest, 
the necessaries of life, or articles of coarse quality and low 
price, which the poor and- great mass of the people must con- 
sume. The burdens of government should, as far as practi- 
cable, be distributed justly and equally among all classes of 
our population. These general views, long entertained on the 
subject, I have deemed it proper to reiterate. It is a subject 
upon which conflicting interests of sections and occupations 
are suposed to exist, and a spirit of mutual concession and 
compromise in adjusting its details should be cherished by 
every part of our wide-spread country, as the only means of 
preserving harmony and a cheerful acquiescence of all in the 
operation of our revenue laws. Our patriotic citizens in every 
part of the Union will readily submit to the payment of such 
taxes as shall be needed for the support of their government, 
whether in peace or in war, if they are so levied as to dis- 
tribute the burdens as equally as possible among them. 

The republic of Texas has made known her desire to come 
into our Union, to form a part of our confederacy, and to en- 
joy with us the blessing of liberty secured and guaranteed by 
our constitution. Texas was once a part of our country — • 
was unwisely ceded away to a foreign power — is now inde- 
pendent, and possesses an undou.bted right to dispose of a 
part or the whole of her territory, and to merge her sovereign- 
ty as a separate and independent State, in om-s, I congratu- 
late my country that, by an act of the last Congress of the 
United States, the assent of this government has been given 
to the reunion ; and it only remains for the two countries to 
agree upon the terms, to consummate an object so important 
to both. 



156 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusive- 
ly to the United States and Texas. They are independent 
powers, competent to contract ; and foreign nations have no 
right to interfere witli them, or to take exceptions to their re- 
union. Foreign powers do not seem to appreciate the true 
character of our g^ernment. Our Union is a confederation 
of independent States, whose policy is peace with each other 
and all the world. To enlarge its limits, is to extend the do- 
minion of peace over additional territories and increasing mil- 
lions. Tlie world has nothing to fear from military ambition 
in our government. While the chief magistrate and the popu- 
lar branch of Congress are elected for short terms by the 
suffrages of those millions who must, in their own persons, 
bear all the burdens and miseries of war, our government 
cannot be otherwise than pacific. Foreign powers should, 
therefore, look on the annexation of Texas to the United States, 
not as the conquest of a nation seeking to extend her domin- 
ions by arms and violence, but as the peaceful acquisition of 
a territory once her own, by adding another member to our 
confederation, with the consent of that member — thereby di- 
minishing the chances of war, and opening to them new and 
ever-increasing markets for their products. 

To Texas the reunion is important, because the strong pro- 
tecting arm of our government would be extended over her, 
and the vast resources of her fertile soil and genial climate 
would be speedily developed ; while the safety of New Or- 
leans, and of our southwestern frontier, against hostile ag- 
gression, as well as the interest of the whole Union, would he 
promoted by it. 

In the earher stages of our national existence, the opinion 
prevailed Avith some, that our system of confederated states 
could not operate successfully over an extended territory, and 
serious objections have, at different times, been made to the 
enlargement of our boundaries. These objections were earn- 
estly urged when we acquired Louisiana. Experience has 



1845-J INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 157 

shown that they were not well founded. The title of nu- 
merous Indian tribes to vast tracts of country has been extin- 
guished. New States have been admitted into the Union ; 
new Territories have been created, and our jurisdiction and 
laws extended over them. As our population has expanded, 
the Union has' been cemented and strengthened ; as our 
boundaries have been enlarged, and our agricultural popula- 
tion has been spread over a large surface, our federative sys- 
tem has acquired additional strength and security. It may 
well be doubted whether it would not be in greater danger 
of overthrow, if our present population were confined to the 
comparatively narrow limits of the original thirteen States, 
than it is, now that they are sparsely settled over an expand- 
ed territory. It is confidently believed that our system may 
be safely extended to the utmost bounds of our territorial 
limits ; and that, as it shall be extended, the bonds of our 
Union, so far from being weakened, will become stronger. 

None can fail to see the danger to our safety and future peace, 
if Texas remains an independent State, or becomes an ally or 
dependency of some foreign nation more powerful than her- 
self. Is there one among our citizens who would not prefer 
perpetual peace with Texas, to occasional wars, which so 
often occur between bordering independent nations? Is 
there one who would not prefer free intercom-se with her, to 
high duties on all our products and manufactures which en- 
ter her ports or cross her frontiers ? Is there one who would 
not prefer an unrestricted communication with her citizens, to 
the frontier obstructions which must occur if she remains out 
of the Union ? Whatever is good or evil in the local institu- 
tions of Texas, will remain her own, whether annexed to the 
United States or not. None of the present States will be 
responsible for them, any more than they are for the local in- 
stitutions of eacli other. They have confederated together 
for certain specified objects. 

Upon the same principle that they would refuse to form a 



158 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

perpetual vmloii with Texas, because of her local institutions, 
our forefathers would have been prevented from forming our 
present Union. Perceiving no valid objection to the measure, 
and many reasons for its adoption, vitally affecting the peace, 
the safety, and the prosperity of both countries, I shall, on 
the broad principle Avhich formed the basis, and produced 
the adoption of our constitution, and not in any narrow spirit 
of sectional policy, endeavor, by all constitutional, honorable, 
and appropriate means, to consummate the express will of 
the people and government of the United States, by the re- 
annexation of Texas to our Union, at the earliest practicable 
period. 

Nor will it become in a less degree my duty to assert and 
maintain, by all constitutional means, the right of the United 
States to that portion of our territory Avhich lies beyond the 
Rocky Mountains. Our title to the country of the Oregon 
is " clear and unquestionable ;" and already are our people 
preparing to perfect that title, by occupying it with their 
wives and children. But eighty years ago, our population 
was confined on the west by the ridge of the AUeghanies. 
Within that period — within the life-time, I might say, of some 
of my hearers — our people, increasing to many millions, have 
filled • the eastern valley of the Mississippi ; adventuroiisly 
ascended the Missouri to its head springs ; and are already 
enaraofed in establishing the blessino-s of self-government in 
valleys, of which the rivers flow to the Pacific. The world 
beholds the peaceful triumphs of the industry of our emi- 
grants. To us belongs the duty of protecting them ade- 
quately, wherever they may be upon our soil. The jurisdic- 
tion of our laws, and the benefits of our republican institu- 
tions, should be extended over them in the distant regions 
which they have selected for their homes. The increasing 
facilities of intercourse Avill easily bi'ing the States, of Avhicli 
the formation in that part of our territory cannot long be 
delayed, Avithin the sphere of our federative Union. In the 



1845.] INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 



159 



meantime, every obligation imposed by treaty or conventional 
stipulations, should be sacredly respected. 

In the management of oiir foreign relations, it will be my 
aim to observe a careful respect for the rights of other na- 
tions, while our own will be the subject of constant watchful- 
ness. Equal and exact justice should characterize all our in- 
tercourse with foreign countries. All alliances having a ten- 
der.cY to jeopard the welfare and honor of our country, or 
sacrifice any one of tlie national interests, will be studiously 
avoided ; and yet no opportunity will be lost to culLivate a 
favorable understai.dlnp; with foreign governments, by Avhich 
our navigation and commerce may be extended, and the am- 
ple products of our fertile soil, as well as the manufactures of 
our skilful artisans, find a ready market and remunerating 
prices in foreign countries. 

In taking " care that the laws be faithfully executed," a 
strict performance of duty will be exacted from all public 
officers. From those officers, especially, who are charged 
Avith the collection and disbursement of the public revenue, 
will prompt and rigid accoimtability be required. Any cul- 
pable failure or delay on their part to account for the moneys 
entrusted' to them, at the times and in the manner required 
by law, Avill, in every instance, terminate the official connec- 
tion of .such defaulting officer with the government. 

Although, in our country, the chief magistrate must al- 
most of necessity be chosen by a party, and stand pledged to ^ 
its principles and measures, yet in his official action, he should/ 
not be the president of a part only, but of the whole people; 
of the United States. While he executes the law with an im- 
partial hand, shrinks from no proper responsibility, and faith- 
fully carries out in the executive department of the govern- 
ment the principles and policy of those who have chosen him, 
he should not be unmindful that our fellow-citizens who have 
diff'ered with him in opinion are entitled to the full and^ free 
exercise of their opinions and judgments, and that the rights 
of all are entitled to respect and regard. 



160 JAMES K\OX POLK. [1845. 

Confidently relying upon the aid and assistance of the 
coordinate branches of the government, in conducting our 
public affairs, I enter upon the discharge of the high duties 
which have been assigned .me by the people, again humbly 
supplicating that Divine Being who has watched over and 
protected our beloved country from its infancy to the present 
hour, to continue his generous benedictions upon us, tliat we 
may continue to be a prosperous and happy people. 

Having concluded his address, the oath of office was 
administered to the president by Chief Justice Taney, 
after which the former left the capitol in his carriage, 
and proceeded rapidly, by an indirect route, in order to 
avoid further fatigue, to the president's house, where, 
during the after part of the day, he received the congrat- 
ulations of his fellow-citizens. In the evening, the presi- 
dent and his lady attended the two inauguration balls 
given in the city. Thus ended a ceremony which had, 
doubtless, caused him many a moment of uniost, and to 
which thousands had looked forward with beating hearts 
and with deep anxiety. 

In such a manner does the American republic change 
her sovereigns — no pomp or ostentatious parade — no mili- 
tary escort for protection — no heralds o^ pursuivants to 
make proclamation — no crowns or insignia emblematic of 
royalty — no holy ampulla to pour upon the consecrated 
head — but a plain and simple ceremony in unison with 
her free institutions, and with the genius and character 
of her people ! 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Position of the President— Ilis Cabinet— The Washington Globe and The 
Union — Meeting of Congress — First Annual Message— The Oregon 
Boundary Question — History and Progress of the Negotiation — Ultima- 
-tum of the American Government— Proposition of Great Britain— Con- 
clusion and Ratification of a Treaty. 

Mr. Polk entered upon his administration under 
somewhat unfavorable auspices. He belonged to a 
younger race of statesmen than the prominent candidates 
Avhose names were originally presented to the Baltimore 
Convention, and it was but natural that he should be 
fearful of incurring the dislike, or encountering the preju- 
dices, of some one or more of them, which might tend 
seriously to embarrass his administration. But his po- 
sition personally, was all that could be desired. He 
had no pledges to redeem — no promises to fulfil ; and 
he was not a candidate for reelection. He Avas indiffer- 
ent, too, as to which of the leading men of his party 
should be his successor. It was his desire, therefore, 
to harmonize and conciliate, but, at the same time, to 
surrender no principle, to maintain his character for 
independence, and to preserve the dignity of his official 
position. 

His cabinet was selected from among the most dis- 
tinguished members of the democratic party, and in it 
each section of the confederacy was represented. James 



162 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, was appointed Secretary of 
State; Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, Secretary of 
tlie Treasury; William L. Marcy, of New York,. Secre- 
tary of War ; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, Sec- 
retary of the Navy ; Cave Johnson, of Tennessee, Post- 
master-general, and John Y. Mason, of Virginia, Attor- 
ney-general.* These selections appeared to give entire 
satisfaction ; and if murmurs were heard in any quarter, 
they were condemned by the general voice of the repub- 
licans of the nation. 

For several years a strong and influential portion of 
the democratic party in the southern states had disap- 
proved of the arbitrary and dictatorial tone, as they 
alleged, of the Washington Globe, the principal republi- 
can journal at Washington. Governed by the purest 
motives of conciliation, the President suggested the trans- 
fer of the newspaper establishment to other persons than 
the then publishers, Francis P. Blair and John C. Rives. 
The latter, acting under the advice and with the appro- 
bation of General Jackson and Mr. Van Buren, acceded 
to tliis proposition; their interest in the Globe was 
cheerfully transferred, and a new paper, called " The 

Union," established in its stead, under the editorial 

# 

* The office of Secretary of the Treasury was in the first place ten- 
dered by Mr. Polk to Silas Wright, of New York ; but as the latter haj 
been chosen governor of his state, at the election of 1844, and was undei 
an implied pledge not to vacate the office for a seat in the national cabinet, 
he did not accept it. The office of Secretary of War was then tendered to 
Benjamin F. Butler, also a distinguished citizen of New York, but he too 
declined ; whereupon ex-Governor Marcy was selected for that station, iu 
accordance with the request of a majority of the democratic delegation in 
Congress from New York, and of a majority of the members of the legisla- 
ture of the state belonging to that party. 



1845.J FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. Igg 

charge of Thomas Ritchie, who had long been honorably 
connected with the Richmond Enquirer in the same ca- 
pacity. 

The treaty for the annexation of Texas, concluded by 
President Tyler, was rejected by the Senate of the 
United States, on the 8th day of June, 1844. At the 
ensuing session of Congress, the subject was again 
brought forward, and joint resolutions, providing for the 
annexation, were adopted on the 1st day of March, 1845. 
The people of Texas, represented in convention, signi- 
fied their assent to the terms of the resolutions on the 
4th of July following, and formed a state constitution, 
which was forwarded to Washington to be laid before the 
Congress of the United States by the President. 

The first session of the twenty-ninth Congress, — beint^ 
also the first held during the administration of Mr. 
Polk,— commenced on the 1st day of December, 1845. 
The friends of the administration being in a considerable 
majority, John W. Davis was elected speaker of the 
House, by one hundred and twenty votes to seventy-two 
given for Samuel F. Vinton, of Ohio, the whig candidate. 
On the ensuing day the President communicated his first 
annual message to the two houses of Congress : 

FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 
FeUow-citizens of the Senate, and House of Representatives : 

It is to me a source of unaffected satisfaction to meet the 
representatives of the States and the people in Congress as- 
sembled, as it will be to receive the aid of theu- combined 
wisdom in the admmistration of pubHc affairs. In performing 
for the first time the duty imposed on me by the Constitu- 
tion, of giving to you mformation of the state of the Union, 



16'4 • JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

and recommending to your consideration sucTi measures as 
in my judgment are necessary and expedient, I am happy 
that I can congratulate you on the continued prosperity of 
our country. Urxler the blessings of Divine Providence and 
the benign influence of our free institutions, it stands before 
.the world a spectacle of national happiness. 

With our unexampled advancement iu all the elements of 
national greatness, the afi'ection of the people is confirmed for 
the union of the States, and for the doctrines of popular lib- 
erty, which lie at the foundation of our government. 

It becomes us, in humilitj'', to make our devout acknowl- 
edgment to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, for the ines- 
timable civil and religious blessings with which we are fa- 
vored. 

In calling the attention of Congress to our relations with 
foreign powers, I am gratified to be able to state, that ^though 
with some of them there have existed since your last session 
serious cause of irritation and misunderstanding, yet no actual 
hostilities have taken place. Adopting the maxim in the con- 
duct of our foreign aftairs to " ask nothing that is not right, 
and submit to nothing that is wrong," it has been my anx- 
ious desire to preserve peace with all nations ; but, at the 
same time, to be prepared to i-esist aggression, and to main- 
tain all our just rights. 

In pursuance of the joint resolution of Congress " for an- 
nexing Texas to the United States," my predecessor, on the 
third day of March, 1845, elected to submit the first and 
second sections of that resolution to the republic of Texas, as 
an overture, on the part of the United States, for her admis- 
sion as a State into our Union. This election I approved, 
and accordingly the charge d'affaires of the United States in 
Texas, under instructions of the tenth of March, 1845, pre- 
sented these sections of the resolution for the acceptance of 
that republic. The Executive Government, the Congress, 
and the people of Texas in convention, have successively com- 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 16^ 

plied with all the terras and conditions of the joint resolution. 
A constitution for the government of the State of Texas, 
formed by a convention of deputies, is herewith laid before 
Congress. It is well known, also, that the people of Texas 
at the polls have accepted the terms of annexation, and rati- 
fied the constitution. 

I communicate to Congress the correspondence between 
the Secretary of State and our Charge d'Affaires in Texas ; 
and also the corresponden-ce of the latter with the authorities 
of Texas ; together with the official documents transmitted 
by him to his own government. 

The terms of annexation which were offered by the United 
States having been accepted by ''"exas, the public faith of 
both parties is solemnly pledged to the compact of their 
union. Nothing remains to consummate tlie event, but the 
passage of an act by Congress to admit the State of Texas 
into the Union upon an equal footing witli the original States. 
Strong reasons exist why this should be done at an early pe- 
riod of the session. It will be observed, that by the Consti- 
tution of "Texas, the existing government is only continued 
temporarily till Congress can act, and that the third Monday 
of the present month is the day appointed for holding the 
first general election. On that day, a governor, a lieutenant- 
governor, and both branches of the legislature, will be chosen 
by the people. The President of Texas is required, immedi- 
ately after the receipt of official information that the new 
State has been admitted into our Union by Congress, to con- 
vene the Legislature ; and, upon its meeting, the existing 
government will be superseded, and the State Government 
organized. Questions deeply interesting to Texas, in com- ' 
mon with the other States, the extension of our revenue laws 
and judicial system over her people and territory, as well as 
measures of a local character, Avill claim the early attention 
of Congress ; and, therefore, upon every principle of repu.b- 
lican government, she ought to be represented in that body 



166 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

without unnecessary delay. I cannot too earnestly recom- 
mend prompt action on this important subject. 

As soon as the act to admit Texas as a State shall be pass- 
ed, the union of the two republics will be consummated by 
their own voluntary consent. 

This accession to our territory has been a bloodless achieve- 
ment. No arm of force has be,en raised to produce the re- 
sult. The SAVord has had no part in the victory. We have 
not sought to extend our territorial possessions by conquest, 
or our republican institutions, over a reluctant people. It was 
the deliberate homage of each people to the great principle 
of our federative Union. 

If we consider the extent of territory involved in the an- 
nexation — its prospective influence on America — the means 
by which it has been accomplished, springing purely from the 
choice of the people themselves to share the blessings of our 
Union, — the history of the world may be challenged to fur- 
nish a parallel. 

The jurisdiction of the United States, which at the forma- 
tion of the federal constitution was bounded by the St. Ma- 
ry's on the Atlantic, has passed the Capes of Florida, and 
been peacefully extended to the Del Norte. In contemplat- 
ing the grandeur of this event, it is not to be forgotten that 
the result was achieved in despite of the diplomatic interfer- 
ence of European monarchies. Even France — the country 
which had been our ancient ally — the country which, has a 
common interest with us in maintaining the freedom of tlie 
seas — the country which, by the cession of Louisiana, first 
opened to us access to the Gulf of Mexico — the country with 
' which we have been every year drawing more and more cloi?e- 
ly the bonds of successful commerce — most unexpectedly, 
and to our unfeigned regret, took part in an effort to prevent 
annexation, and to impose on Texas, as a condition of the rec- 
ognition of her independence by Mexico, that she wouLl 
never join hei'self to the United States. We may rejoice that 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 167 

the tranquil and pervading influence of the American princi- 
ple of self-government was sufficient to defeat the purposes of 
]3ritish and French interference, and that the almost unani- 
mous voice of the people of Texas has given to that interfer- 
ence a peaceful and effective rebuke. From this example, 
European governments may learn how vain diplomatic arts 
and intrigues must ever prove \xpon this continent, against 
that system of self-government Avhich seems natural to our 
soil, and which will ever resist foreign interference. 

Toward Texas, I do not doubt that a liberal ..nd generous 
spirit will actuate Congress in all that concerns her interests 
and prosperitv, and that she will never liave cause to regret 
that she has united her " lone star" to our glorious constel- 
lation. 

I regret to inform vou that our relations with Mexico, since 
vour last session, have not been of the amicable character 
which it is our desire to cultivate with all foreign nations. 
On the 6th day of March last, the Me.xican envoy extraor- 
dinary and minister plenipotentiary to the United States made 
a formal protest, in the name of his government, against the 
joint resolution passed by Congress, "for the annexation of 
Texas to the United States," which he chose to regard as a 
violation of the rights of Mexico, and, in consequence of it, 
he demanded his passports. He was informed that the gov- 
ernment of the United States did not consider this joint res- 
olution as a violation of any of the rights of Mexico, or that 
it afforded any just cause of offence to his government ; that the 
Republic of Texas Avas an independent Power, owing no alle- 
giance to Mexico, and constituting no part of her territory or 
]-ightful sovereignty and jurisdiction. He was also assured 
tliat it was the sincere desire of this government to maintain 
with that of Mexico relations of peace and good understand- 
ing. That functionary, however, notwithstanding these rep- 
resentations and assurances, abruptly terminated his mission, 
and shortly afterwards left the country. Our envoy extra- 



168 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845 

ordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Mexico was refused 
all official intercourse with that government, and, after re- 
mainino; several months, by the permission of his own gov- 
ernment he returned to the United States. Thus, by the acts 
of Mexico, all diplomatic intercourse between the two coun- 
tries was suspended. 

Since that time Mexico has, until recently, occupied an at- 
titude of hostility toward the United States — has been mar- 
shaUing and organizing armies, issuing proclamations, and 
avowinsf the intention to make war on the United States, 

o 

either by an open declaration, or by invading Texas. Both 
the Congress and coiivention of the people of Texas invited 
this Government to send an army into that territory, to pro- 
tect and defend them against the menaced attack. The mo- 
ment the terms of annexation, offered by the United States, 
were accepted by Texas, the latter became so far a part of our 
own country, as to make it our duty to afford svich protection 
and defence. 1 therefore deemed it proper, as a precautionary 
measure, to order a strong squadron to the coasts of Mexico, 
and to concentrate an efficient military force on the Avestern 
frontier of Texas. Our army was ordered to take position in 
the country between the Nueces and the Del Norte, and 
to repel any invasion of the Texan territory Avhich might 
be attempted by the Mexican forces. Our squadron in the 
gulf was ordered to cooperate with the army. But though 
our army and navy were placed in a position to defend 
our own and the rights of Texas, they were ordered 
to commit no act of hostility against Mexico, unless she de- 
clared war, or was herself the aggi'essor, by striking the first 
blow. The result has been that Mexico has made no aggres- 
sive movement, and our military and naval commanders have 
executed their orders with such discretion, tliat the peace of 
the two republics has not been disturbed. 

Texas had declared her independence, and maintained it by 
her arms for more than nine years. She has had an organ- 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 169 

ized government in successful operation during that period. 
Her separate existence, as an independent state, bad been 
recognized by the United States and the principal powers of 
Europe. Treaties of commerce and navigation had been 
concluded with her by different nations, and it had become 
manifest to the whole world that any further attempt on the 
part of Mexico to conquer her, or overthrow her government, 
would be vain. Even Mexico herself hadbecome satisfied of 
this fact^ and Avhilst the question of annexation was pending 
before the people of Texas, during the past summer, the gov- 
ernment of Mexico, by a formal act, agreed to recognize the 
independence of Texas on condition that she would not an- 
nex herself to any other power. The agreement to acknowl- 
edge the independence of Texas, whether with or without 
this condition, is conclusive against Mexico. The independ- 
ence of Texas is a fact conceded by Mexico herself, and she 
had no right or iiuthority to prescribe restrictions as to the 
form of government which Texas might afterwards choose to 
assume. 

But though Mexico cannot complain of the United States 
on account of the annexation of Texas, it is to be regretted 
that' serious causes of misunderstanding between the two 
countries continue to exist, growing out of unredressed inju- 
ries inflicted by the Mexican authorities and people on the 
persons and property of citizens of the United States, through 
a long series of years. Mexico has admitted these injuries, 
but has neglected and refused to repair them. Such was the 
character of the wrongs, and such the insults repeatedly of- 
fered to American citizens and the x\merican flag by Mexico, 
in palpable violation of the laws of nations and the treaty 
between the two countries of the fiftli of- April, 1831, that 
they have been repeatedly brought to the notice of Congress 
by my predecessors. As early as the 8th of February, 1837, 
the President of the United States declared, in a message to 
Congress, that " the length of time since some of the injuries 



170 JAMES KNOX POLK. |^1845. 

have been committed, the repeated and unavailing applica- 
tions for redress, the wantcm character of some of the out- 
rages upon the persons and property of our citizens, upon the 
officers and flag of the United States, independent of recent 
insults to this government and people by the late Extraordi- 
nary Mexican Minister, would justify in the eyes of all na- 
tions immediate war." 

He did not, however, recommend an immediate resort to 
this extreme measure, which, he declared, " should not be 
used by just and generous nations, confiding in their strength 
for injuries committed, if it can be honorably avoided ;" but, 
in a spirit of forbearance, proposed that another demand be 
made on Mexico for that redress which had been so long and 
imiustly withheld. In these views, committees of the two 
Houses of Congress, in reports made to their respective bodies, 
concurred. Since these proceedings, more than eight years 
have elapsed, during which, in addition to the wrongs then 
complained of, others of an aggravated character have been 
committed on the persons and property of our citizens. A 
special agent was sent to Mexico in the summer of 1838, 
with full authority to make another and final demand for re- 
dress. The demand was made; the Mexican government 
promised to repair the wrongs of which we complained ; and 
after much delay, a treaty of indemnity with that view was 
concluded between the two Powers on the 11th of April, 
1839, and was duly ratified by both governments. By this 
treaty a joint commission was created to adjudicate and de- 
cide on the claims of American citizens on the government of 
Mexico. The commission was organized at Washington on 
the 25th day of August, 1840. Their time was limited to. 
eighteen months ; at the expiration of which, they had adju- 
dicated and decided claims amounting to two millions twenty- 
six thousand one hundred and thirty-nine dollars and sixty- 
eight cents in favor of citizens of the United States against 
the Mexican government, leaving a large amount of claims 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 171 

undecided. Of the latter, the American commissioners had 
decided in favor of our citizens, claims amounting to nine hun- 
dred and twenty-eight thousand six himdred and twentj'-seven 
dollars and eighty-eight cents, Avhich were left unacted on by 
the \impire authorized by the treaty. Still further claims, 
amounting to between three and four millions of dollars, were 
submitted to the board too late to be considered, and were 
left undisposed of. 

The sum of two millions twenty-six thousand one hundred 
and thirty-nine dollars and sixty-eight cents, decided by the 
board, was a liquidated and ascertained debt due by Mexico" 
to the claimants, and there was no justifiable reason for de- 
laying its payment according to the terms of the treaty. It 
was not, however, paid. Mexico applied for further indul- 
gence ; and, in that spirit of liberality and forbearance which 
has ever marked the policy of the United States toward that 
republic, the request was granted ; and, on the thirtieth of 
January, 1843, a new treaty was concluded. By this treaty 
it was pronded, that the interest due on the awards in favor 
of claimants imder the convention of the eleventh of April, 
183,9, should be paid on the thirtieth of April, 1843 ; and 
that " the principal of the said awards, and the interest aris- 
ing thereon, shall be paid in five years, in equal instalments 
every three months, the said term of five years to commence 
on the thirtieth day of April, 1S43, as aforesaid." The inter- 
est due on the thirtieth day of April, 1843, and the three 
first of the twenty instalments, have been paid. Seventeen 
of these instalments remain unpaid, seven of which are now 
due. 

The claims which were left undecided by the joint commis- 
sion, amounting to more than three millions of dollars, to- 
gether with other claims for spoliations on the property of 
our citizens, were subseqiiently. presented to the Mexican 
government for payment, and were so far recognized, that a 
treaty, providing for their examination and settlement by a 



172 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

joint commission, was concluded and signed at Mexico on tlie 
twentieth day of November, 1843. This treaty was ratified 
by the United States, witli certain amendments, to which no 
just exception could have been taken ; but it has not yet re- 
ceived the ratification of the Mexican government. In the 
meantime, our citizens who suffered great losses, and some of 
whom have been reduced from affluence to bankruptcy, are 
without remedy, imless tlieir lights be enforced by their gov- 
ernment. Such a continued and unprovoked series of wrongs 
could never have been tolerated by the United States, had 
'they been committed by one of the principal nations of Eu- 
rope. Mexico was, however, a neighboring sister republic, 
which, following our example, had achieved her independ- 
ence, and for whose success and prosperif^)^ all our sympathies 
were early enlisted. The United States were the first to rec- 
ognize her independence, and to receive her into the family 
of nations, and have ever been desirous of cultivating Avith 
her a good understanding. We have, therefore, borne the 
repeated wrongs she has committed, with great patience, in 
the hope that a returning sense of justice would ultimately 
guide her councils, and that we might, if possible, honorably 
avoid any liostile collision with her. 

Without the previous autliority of Congress, the Executive 
possessed no power to adopt or enforce adequate remedies 
for the injuries we had suffered, or to do more than be pre- 
pared to repel the threatened aggression on the part of Mex- 
ico. After our army and navy had remained on the frontier 
and coasts of Mexico for many weeks, without any hostile 
movement on her part, though her menaces were continued, I 
deemed it important to put an end, if possible, to this state of 
things. With this view, I caused steps to be taken, in the 
month of September last, to Ascertain distinctly, and in an 
authentic form, what the desio^ns of the Mexican government 
were ; whether it was their intention to declare war, or invade 
Texas, or whether they were disposed to adjust and settle, in 



1845. J FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 173 

an amicable manner, the pending differences between the two 
countries. On the ninth of November an official answer was 
received, that the Mexican government consented to renew 
the diplomatic relations which had been suspended in March 
last, and for that purpose were willing to accredit a minister 
from the United States. With a sincere desire to preserve 
peace, and restore relations of good understanding between 
the two republics, I waived all ceremony as to the manner of 
renewing diplomatic intercoui'se between them ; and, assuming 
the initiative, on the tenth of November a distinjruished citi- 
zen of Louisiana was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and 
Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico, clotlied with full powers 
to adjust, and definitively settle, all pending differences be- 
tweeft the two countrtes, including those of boundary between 
Mexico and the State of Texas. The minister appointed has 
set out on his mission, and is probably by tliis time near the 
I^lexican capital. He has been instructed to bring the nego- 
tiation witli whicli he is charged to a conclusion at the earliest 
practicable period ; which, it is expected, will be in time to 
enable me to communicate the result to Cono-ress duringf the 
present session. Until that result is known, I forbear to rec- 
ommend to Congress such ulterior measures of redress for 
the wrongs and injuries we have so long borne, as it would 
have been proper to make had no such negotiation been insti- 
tuted. 

Congress appropriated at the last session the sum of two 
hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars for the payment 
of the April and July instalments of the Mexican indemnities 
for the year 1844 : "Provided it shall be ascertained to the 
satisfaction of the American government that the said instal- 
ments have been paid by the Mexican government to the agent 
appointed by the United States to receive the same in such 
manner as to discharge all claim on the Mexican government, 
and said agent to be delinquent in remitting the money to 
the United States." 



174 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

The unsettled state of our relations with Mexico has in- 
volved this subject in much mystery. The first information, 
in an authentic fonn, from the agent of the United States, 
appointed under the administration of my predecessor, Avas 
received at the State Department on the ninth of November 
last. This is contained in a letter dated the 17th October, 
addressed by him to one of our citizens then in Mexico, with 
the A^ew of having it communicated to that department. 
From this it appears that the agent, on the 20th of Septem- 
ber, T844, gave a receipt to the treasmy of Mexico for the 
amount of the April and July instalments of the indemnity. 
In the same communication, however, he asserts that he had 
not received a sinfle dollar in cash, but that he holds such 
securities as warranted him at the time m givmg the receipt, 
and entertains no doubt but that he will eventually obtain the 
money. As these instalments appear never to have been ac- 
tually paid by the government of Mexico to the agent, and 
as that o-overnment has not therefore been released so as to 
discharge the claim, I do not feel myself warranted in direct- 
ing payment to be made to the claimants out of the treasmy, 
without further legislation. Their case is, undoubtedly, one 
of much hardship ; and it remains for Congress to decide 
whether any, and what, relief ought to be granted to them. 
Our minister to Mexico has been instructed to ascertain the 
facts of the case from the Mexican government, in an authen- 
tic and official form, and report the result with as little delay 
as possible. 

My attention was early directed to the negotiation, which, 
on the 4th of March last, I found pending at Washington be- 
tween the United States and Great Britain, on the subject of 
the Oregon territory. Three several attempts had been pre- 
^ously made to settle the questions in dispute between the 
two countries, by negotiation, upon the principle of compro- 
mise ; but each had proved unsuccessful. 

These negotiations took place at London, in the years 1818, 



1845-] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 1Y5 

1824, and 1826 ; the two first under the administration of Mr, 
Monroe, and the last under that of Mr. Adams. The negotia- 
tion of 1818 having failed to accomphsh its object, resulted in 
the convention of the twentieth of October of that year. By the 
third article of that convention, it was " agreed, that any coun- 
try that may be claimed by either party on the northwest coast 
of America, westward of the Stony mountains, shall, together 
v.ith its harbors, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all 
rivers within the same, be free and open for the term of ten 
years from the date of the signature of the present conven- 
tion, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two Powers ; 
it beinor well understood that this asrreeraent is not to be con- 
strued to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two 
high contracting parties may have to any part of the said 
coimtry, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of any other 
Power or State to any part of the said country ; the only ob- 
ject of the high contracting parties in that respect being, to 
prevent disputes and difl'erences among themselves." 

The negotiation of 1824 was productive of no result, and 
the convention of 1818 was left imchanged. 

The negotiation of 1826 having also failed to effect an ad- 
justment by compromise, resulted in the convention of Au- 
gust the sixth, 1827, by which it was agreed to continue in 
force, for an indefinite period, the provisions of the third ar- 
ticle of the convention of the twentieth of October, 1818 ; and 
it was further provided, " that it shall be competent, however, 
to either of the contracting parties, in case either should think 
fit, at any time after the twentieth of October, 1828, on giv- 
ino- due notice of twelve months to the other contracting 
party, to annvil and abrogate this convention ; and it shall, in 
such case, be accordingly entirely annulled and abrogated 
after the expiration of the said terra of service." In these 
attempts to adjust the controversy, the parallel of forty-ninth 
degree of north latitude had been offered by the United 
States to Great Britain, and in those of 1818 and 1826, -with 



176 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

a further concession of the free navigation of the Cohinibia 
River south of that hititude. The parallel of the forty-ninth 
degree, from the Rocky Mountains to its intersection of the 
northcasternmost branch of the Columbia, and thence down 
the channel of that river to the sea, had been offered by Great 
Britain, with an addition of a small detached territory nortli 
of the Columbia. Each of these propositions had been re- 
jected by the parties respectively. 

In October, 1843, the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
Plenipotentiary of the United States in London, was author- 
ized to make a similar offer to those made in 1818 and 182G. 
Thus stood the question, when the negotiation was shortly 
afterwards transferred to Washington ; and, on the twenty- 
third of August, 1844, was formally opened, under the direc- 
tion of my immediate predecessor. Like all the previous 
negotiations, it was based upon the principles of " compro- 
mise ;" and the avowed purpose of the parties was, " to treat 
of the respective claims of the two countries to the Oregon 
territory, with a x'lew to establish a permanent boundary be- 
tween them westward of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific 
Ocean." Accordingly, on the twenty-sixth of August, .844, 
the British Plenipotentiary offered to divide the Oregon terri- 
tory by the 49th parallel of north latitude, from the Rocky 
Mountains to the point of its intersection with the northeast- 
evnmost branch of the Columbia River, and thence down that 
river to the sea ; leaving the free navigation of the river to 
be enjoyed in common by both parties— the country south of 
this line to belong to the United States, and that north of 
it to Great Britain. At the same time, he proposed, in addi- 
tion, to yield to the United States a detached territory, north 
of the Columbia, extending along the Pacific and the Straits 
of Fuca, from Bulfinch's Harbor inclusive, to Hood's Canal, 
and to make free to the United States any port or ports south 
of latitude 49 degrees, which they might desire, either on the 
main land, or on Quadra and Vancouver's Tsland. With the 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 177 

exception of the free ports, this was the same offer which had 
been made by the British and rejected by the American Gov- 
eisnment, in the negotiation of 1826. This proposition was 
properly rejected by the American Plenipotentiary on the day 
it was submitted. This was the only proposition of com- 
promise offered by the British Plenipotentiary. The propo- 
sition on the part of Great Britain having been rejected, the 
British Plenipotentiary requested that a proposal should be 
made by the United States for " an equitable adjustment of 
the question." 

When I came into office, I found this to be the state of 
the negotiation. Though entertaining the settled conviction 
that the British pretensions of title could not be maintained 
to any portion of tjie Oregon territory upon any principle of 
public law recognized by nations, yet, ia deference to what 
had been done by my predecessors, and especially in consid- 
eration that propositions of compromise had been thrice made 
by two preceding administrations, to adjust the question on 
the parar.fl of furty-nine degrees, and in two of them yield- 
ing to Great Britain the free navigation of the Columbia, and 
that the pending negotiation had been commenced on the 
basis of compromise, I deemed it to be my duty not abruptly 
to bi-eak it off. In consideration, too, that under the con- 
ventions of 1818 and 1827, the citizens and subjects of the 
two powers held a joint occupancy of the coimtry, I was in- 
duced to make another effort to settle this long pending con- 
troversy in the spirit of moderation which had given birth to 
the renewed discussion. A proposition was accordingly made, 
which was rejected by the British Plenipotentiary, who, with- 
out submitting any other proposition, suffered the negotiation 
on his part to drop, expressing his trast that the United States 
Avould offer what he saw fit to call " some further proposal 
for the .settlement of the Oregon question, more consistent 
with fairness and equity and with the reasonable expectations 
of' the British government." The proposition thus offered 



178 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

and rejected, repeated the offer of the parallel of forty-nine 
degrees of nortli latitude, which had been made by two pre- 
ceding administrations, but AA'ithout proposing to surrender 
to Great Britain, as they had done, the free navigation of the 
Columbia River. The right of any foreign power to the free 
navigation of any of our rivers, through the heart of our 
country, was one which I was unwilling to concede. It also 
embraced a provision to make free to Great Britain any port 
or ports on the cap of Quadra and Vancouver's Island, south 
of this parallel. Had this been a new question, coming un- 
der discussion for the first time, this proposition would not 
have been made. The extraordinary and Avholly inadmissible 
demands of the British government, and the rejection of the 
proposition made in deference alone to what had been done 
by my predecessors, and the implied obligation which their 
acts seemed to impose, afford satisfactory evidence that no 
compromise which the United States ought to accept, can be 
effected. With this conviction, the proposition of compro- 
mise Avhich had been made and rejected, was, by my direction, 
subsequently withdrawn, and our title to the whole Oregon 
territory asserted, and, as is believed," maintained by irrefraga- 
ble facts and arguments. 

The civilized Avorld will see in these proceedings a spirit of 
liberal concession on the part of the United States ; and this 
government will be relieved from all responsibility which may 
follow the failure to settle the controversy. 

All attempts at compromise having failed, it becomes the 
duty of Congress to consider what measures it may be proper 
to adopt for the security and protection of our citizens now 
inhabiting, or who may hereafter mhabit, Oregon, and for 
the maintenance of our just title to that territory. In adopt- 
ing measures for this purpose, care should be taken that 
nothing be done to violate the stipulations of the convention 
of 1827* which is- still in force. The faith of treaties in their 
letter and spirit, has ever been, and, I tnrst, will ever be. 



1S45.J FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. ■ 179 

scrupulously observed by tlie United States. Under that 
convention, a year's notice is required to be given by either 
party to the other, before the joint occupancy shall terminate, 
and before either can rightfully assert or exercise exclusive 
jurisdiction over any portion of the territory. This notice it 
would, in my judgment, be proper to give ; and I recommend 
that provision be made by law for giving it accordingly, and 
terminating, in tliis manner, the convention of the sixth of 
August, 1827. 

It will become proper for Congress to determine what leg- 
islation they can, in the mean time, adopt, without violating 
this convention. Beyond all question, the protection of our 
laws and our jurisdiction, civil and criminal, ought to be im- 
mediately extended over our citizens in Oregon. They have 
had just cause to complain of our long neglect in this partic- 
ular, and have in consequence been compelled, for their own 
security and protection, to establish a provisional government 
for themselves. Strongr in their allegiance and ardent in their 
attachments to the United States, they have been thus cast 
upon their own resources. They are anxious that our laws 
should be extended over them, and I recommend that this 
be done by Congress with as little delay as possible, in the 
full extent to which the British Parliament have proceeded in 
regard to British subjects in that tei-ritory, by their act of 
July the second, 1821, " for regulating the fur-trade, and es- 
tablishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction within certain parts 
of North America." By this act Great Britain extended her 
laws and jurisdiction, cinl and criminal, over her subjects, 
engaged in the fur-trade in that territory. By it, the coui'ts 
of the province of Upper Canada were empowered to take 
cognizance of causes civil and criminal. Justices of the peace 
and other judicial officers were authorized to be appointed in 
Oregon, with power to execute all process issuing from the 
courts of that province, and to " sit and hold courts of record 
for the trial of criminal offences and misdemeanors," not 



180 JAMES KWOX POLK. [1845- 

made the subject of capital punishment, and also of civil cases, 
where the cause of action shall not " exceed in value the 
amount or sum of two hundred pc^uids." 

Subsequent to the date of this act of Parliament, a grant 
v--as made from the " British crown," to the Hudson's Bay 
Company, of the exclusive trade with the Indian tribes in the 
Oregon terrftorj'', subject to a reservation that it shall not op- 
ei-ate to the exclusion " of the subjects- d any foreign States 
who, under or by force of aay conventian for the time being, 
between us and such foreign States respectively, mi^y be en- 
tilled to, and sli;i,ll be engaged in, the said trade." 

It is much to be I'egretted, that, w-hile under this act Bi'it- 
ish subjects have enjoyed the protection of British laws and 
British judicial tribuna.ls throughout the whole- of Oregon,. 
American citizens, in the same territo-ry, have enjoyed no- 
such protection from their government.. At thi same time,, 
the result ilhistrates the charaeter of our people and their in- 
stitutions. In spite of this neglect, they have multiplied, and; 
their number is rapidly increasing in that territory.. They 
have made no appeal to arras, but have peacefully fortified 
themselves in their new l>omes, by the adoption of republicar. 
institutions foi' themselves ; fiu-ni&l;iing an'Other example of 
the truth that self-government is inherent in the American 
breast, and must prevail. It is due to them that they should 
te embj-aced and' protected by our laws. 

It is deemed important that om* laws regulating trade and 
intercourse with the Indian tribes east of the Rocky Mount- 
ains, should be extended to such tribes as dwell beyond 
them. 

The increasing emigration to Oregon, arnJ the care and pro- 
tection whjch is due from the government to. its citizens in 
that distant region, make it our duty, as it is our interest, to- 
cultivate amicable relations with the Indian tribes of that ter- 
ritory. For this purpose, I recommend that provision be 
inade for establishing an Iridian agency, and such suh-agen. 



1845-J FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 181 

cies as may be deemed necessary, beyond the Rocky Mount- 
ains. 

j'or the protection of emigrants whilst on their way to Or- 
egon, against the attacks of the Indian tribes occupying the 
count;v tlirough which they pass, I recommend that a suitable 
number of stockades and block-house forts be erected along 
tlie usual route between our frontier settlements on the Mis- 
souri and the Rocky Mountains ; and that an adequate force 
of niounled riflemen be raised to guard and protect them on 
their journey, 'i'he immediate adoption of these recommend- 
ations by Congress will not violate the provisions of the exist- 
ing treaty. It will be doing nothing more for American 
citizens than British laws have long since done for British sub- 
jects in the same territory. 

It requires several months to perform the voyage by sea 
from the Atlantic States to Oregon ; and although we have 
a large number of whale ships in the Pacific, but few of them 
afford an opportunity of interchanging intelligence, without 
great delay, between our settlements in that distant region 
and the Unit-ed States. An overland mail is believed to be 
entirely practicable ; and the impoi'tance of establishing such 
a mail, at least once a month, is submitted to the favorable 
consideration of Congress. 

It is submitted to the wisdom of Congress to determine 
whether, at their present session, and until after the expii-a- 
tion of the year's notice, any other measures may be adopted, 
consistently with the convention of 1827, for the security of 
our rights, and the government and protection of our citizens 
in Oregpn. That it will ultimately be wise and proper to 
make liberal grants of land to the patriotic pioneers, Avho, 
•amidst privatidns and dangers, lead the way through savage 
tribes inhabiting th-e vast wilderness intervening between our 
frontier settlements and Oregon, and who cultivate and are 
ready to defend the 'soil, I am fully satisfied. To doubt 
whether they will obtain such grants as soon as the conven- 



182 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845 

aoii between the United States and Great Britain, shall bave 
ceased to exist, would be to doubt the justice of Congress ; 
but, pending the year's notice, it is worthy of consideration 
whether a stipulation to this effect may be made, consistently 
with the spirit of that convention. 

The recommendations which I have made, as to the best 
manner of securing our rights in Oregon, are submitted to 
Congress with great deference. Should they, in their wis- 
dom, devise any other mode better calculated to accomplish 
the same object, it shall meet with my hearty concurrence. 

At the end of the year's notice, should Congress think it 
proper to make provision for giving that notice, we shall have 
reached a period Avhen the national rights in Oregon must 
either be abandoned or firmly maintained. That they cannot 
be abandoned without a sacrifice of both national honor and 
est, is too clear to admit of doubt. 

Oregon is a part of the North American continent, to which 
it is confidently affirmed, the title of the United States is the 
best now in existence. For the grounds on which that title 
rests, I refer you to the correspondence of the late and pres- 
ent Secretary of State with the British plenipotentiary during- 
the negotiation. TJae British proposition of compromise, 
which would make the Columbia the line south of forty-nine 
degrees, with a trifling addition of detached territory to the 
United States, north of that river, and would leave on the 
British side two-thirds of the whole Oregon territory, includ- 
ino- the free navio-ation of the Columbia and all the A^aluable 
harbors on the Pacific, can never, for a moment, be enter- 
tained by the United States, without an abandonment, of their 
just and clear territorial rights, their own self-respect, and 
the national honor. For the information of CcJngress, I com- 
municate herewith the correspondence which took place be- 
tween the two governments during the late negotiation. 

The rapid extension of our settlements over our tei-ritories 
heretofore unoccupied; the addition of new States to our 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 183 

confederacy ; the expansion of free principles, and our rising 
greatness as a nation, are attracting the attention of the pow- 
ers of Europe ; and hxtely the doctrine has been broached in 
some of them, of a " balance of power" on this continent, to 
check our advancement. The United States, sincerely de- 
sirous of preserving relations of good understanding with all 
nations, cannot in silence permit any European interference 
on the North American continent ; and should any such in- 
terference be attempted, will be ready to resist it at any and 
all hazards. 

It is well known to the American people and to all nations, 
that this government has never interfered with the relations 
subsisting between other governments. We have never made 
ourselves parties to their wars or their alliances ; we have not 
sought their territories by conquest ; we have not mino-led 
with parties in their domestic struggles ; and believing our 
own form of government to be the best, we have never at- 
tempted to propagate it by intrigues, by diplomacy, or by 
force. We may claim on this continent a like exemption from 
European interference. 'Ihe nations of America are equallv 
sovereign and independer.j wilh thoye of Europe. They pos- 
sess the same riglits, independent of all foreign interposition, 
to make war, to conclude peace, and to regulate their inter- 
nal affairs. The people of the United States cannot, there- 
fore, view with indifference attempts of European powers to 
interfere Avith the independent action of the nations on this 
continent. The American system of government is entirely 
different from that of P'urope. Jealousy among the different 
sovereigns of Europe, lest any 6ne of them might become too 
powerful for the rest, has caused them anxiously to desii-e the 
establishment of what they term the " balance of power." 
It cannot be«permitted to have any application on the North 
American continent, and especially to the United States. We 
must ever maintain the principle, that the people of this con- 
tinent alone have the ris>-ht to decide their own ddstiny. Should 



184 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

any portion of them, constituting an independent State, pro- 
pose to unite themselves with our confederacy, this will be a 
question for them and us to determine, witliout any foreign 
interposition. We can never consent that European Powers 
shall interfere to prevent such a union, because it might dis- 
turb the " balance of power" which they may desire to main- 
tain upon this continent. Near a quarter of a century ago, 
the principle was distinctly announced to the world in the 
annual message of one of my predecessors, that " the Amer- 
ican conthients, by the free and independent condition which 
the}'' have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be 
considered as subjects for future colonization by any European 
Power." This principle will apply with greatly increased 
force, should any European power attempt to establish any 
new colony in North America. In the existing circumstances 
of the world, the present is deemed a proper occasion to re- 
iterate and reaffirm tlie principle avowed by Mr. Monroe, and 
to state my cordial concurrence in i;s Avisdom and sound poli- 
cy, ''he i-eassertion of tliis princi; le, t?specially in reference 
to North America, is at tliis day 1 iit. the promulgation of a 
policy which no European power sl.oulcl cherish the disposi- 
tion to resist. Existing lights of e\e. y European nation should 
be respected ; but it is due alike to our safety and our inter- 
ests, that the efficient protection of our laws should be ex- 
tended over our whole territorial limits, and that it should be 
distinctly announced to the world as our settled policy, that 
no future Europ(>an colony or dominion shall, with our con- 
sent, be j)lanted or est;i!;lished on any part of the North 
A merican continent. 

A question has recently arisen under the tenth article of 
the subsisting treaty between the United States and .Prussia. 
By this article, the coiisuls of tlic; two countries have the 
right to sit as judges and arbitrators " in such diflerences as 
may arise between the captnins and ciews of vessels belong- 
incr to the nnjtions wliose interests arc committed to their 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 185 

charge, without the interference of the local authorities, un- 
less the conduct of the crews or of the captains should dis- 
turb the order or tranquillit}^ of the country ; or the said con- 
suls should require their assistance to cause their decisions to 
be carried into effe-ct or supported." 

The Prussian consul at "New Bedford, in June, 1844, ap- 
plied to Mr. Justice Story to carry into effect a decision made 
by him between the captain and the crew of the Prussian 
ship Borussia ; but the request Avas refused on the ground 
tliat, without previous legislation by Congress, the judiciary 
did not possess the power to give effect to this article of the 
treaty. The Prussian government, through their minister 
here, have complained of this .violation of the, treaty, and 
have asked the government of the United States to adopt the 
necessary measures to prevent similar violations hereafter. 
Good faith to Prussia, as well as to other nations with whom 
we have similar treaty stipulations, requires that these should 
be faithfully observed. I liave deemed it proper, therefore, 
to lay the subject before Congress, and to recommend such 
legislation as may be necessary to give effect to these treaty 
obligations. 

By virtue of an arrangement made between the Spanish 
government and that of the United States, in December, 
1831, American vessels, since the '29th of April, 1832, have 
been admitted to entry in the ports of Spain, including those 
of the Balearic and Canary islands, on payment of the same 
tonnage duty of five cents per ton, as though they had been 
Spanish vessels ; and this, whether our vessels arrive in Spain 
directly from the United States, or indii-ectly from any 
other country. When Congress, by the act of the 13th of 
July, 1832, gave effect to this arrangement between the two 
governments, they confined the reduction of tonnage duty 
merely to Spanish vessels " coming from a port in Spain," 
leaving the former discriminating duty to remain against such 
vessels coming from a port in any other country. It is man- 



186 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

ifestly unjust that, whilst American vessels, amving in the 
ports of Spain from other countries, pay no more duty than 
Spanish vessels, Spanish vessels arriving in the ports of the 
United States from other countries should be subjected to 
heavy discriminating tonnage duties. This is neither equality 
nor reciprocity, and is in violation of the arrangement con- 
cluded in December, 1831, between the two countries. The 
Spanish government have made repeated and earnest remon- 
strances against this inequality, and the favorable attention 
of Congress has been several times mvoked to the subject by 
my predecessors. I recommend, as an act of justice to Spain, 
that this inequality be removed by Congress, and that the 
discriminating duties which have been levied under the act 
of the 13th of July, 1832, on Spanish vessels coming to the 
United States from any other foreign country, be refunded. 
This recommendation does not embrace Spanish vessels ar- 
rivincr in the United States from Cuba and Porto Rico, which 
will still remain subject to the provisions of the act of J uiie 
30th, 1834, concerning tonnage duty on such vessels. 

By the act of the 14th of July, 1832, coffee was exempt- 
ed from duty altogether. This exemption Avas universal, 
without reference to the country where it was produced, or 
the national character of the vessel in which it was imported. 
By the tariff act of the 30th August, 1842, this exemption 
from duty was restricted to coffee imported in American 
vessels from the place of its production ; whilst coffee im- 
ported imder all other circiimstances was subjected to a duty 
of 20 per cent, ad valorem. Under this act, and our exist- 
ing treaty with the King of the Netherlands, Java coffee im- 
ported from the European ports of that kingdom into the 
United States, whether in Dutch or American vessels, now 
pays this rate of duty. The government of the Netherlands 
complains that such a discriminating duty should have been 
imposed on coffee, the production of one of its colonies, and 
which is chiefly brought from Java to the ports of that king- 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 187 

dom, and exported from thence to foreign countries. Our 
trade with the Netherlands is highly beneficial to both coun- 
tries, and our relations with them have ever been of the most 
friendly character. Under all the circumstances of the case, 
I recommend that this discrimination should be abolished, and 
tliat the coffee of Java imported from the Netherlands be 
placed upon the same footing Avith that imported directly 
from Brazil and otiier countries where it is produced. 

Under the eio;hth section of the tariff act of the thirtieth of 
August, 1842, a duty of fifteen cents per gallon was imposed 
on Port wine in casks ; while, on the red wines of several 
other countries, when imported in casks, a duty of only six 
cents per gallon was imposed. This discrimination, so far as 
reo-arded the Port Avine of Portugal, was deemed a violation 
of our treaty with that power, which provides, that " No 
higher or other duties shall be imposed on the importation 
into the United States of America of any article the growth, 
produce, or manufacture of the kingdom and possessions of 
Portugal, than such as are or shall be payable on the like ar- 
ticle being the growth, produce, or manufacture of any other 
foreign country." Accordingly, to give effect to the treaty, 
as well as to the intention of Congress, expressed in a proviso 
to the tariff act itself, that nothing therein contained should 
be so construed as to interfere with subsisting treaties with 
foreign nations ; a treasury circular was issued on the six- 
teenth of July, 1844, which, among other things, declared 
the duty on the Port wine of Portugal, in casks, under the 
existing laws and treaty, to be six cents per gallon, and di- 
rected that the excess of duties which had been collected on 
such wine, should be refunded. By virtue of another clause, 
in the same section of the act, it is provided that all imitations 
of Port, or any othqr wines, " shall be subject to the duty 
provided for the genuine article." Imitations of Port wine, 
the production of France, are imported to some extent into 
the United States ; and the government of that country now 



188 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

claims that, under a correct construction of the act, these im- 
itations ought not to pay a higher duty than that imposed 
upon the original Port wine of Portugal. It appears to me 
to be unequal and unjust, that French imitations of Port wine 
sliould be subjected to a duty of fifteen cents, while the more 
valuable article from Portugal should pay a duty of six cents 
only per gallon. 1 therefore recommend to Congress such 
legislation as may be necessary to correct the inequality. 

The late President, in his annual message of December 
last, recommended an appropriation to satisfy the claims of 
the Texan government against the United States, which had 
been previously adjusted, so far as the powers of the Exec- 
utive extend. These claims arose out of the act of disarming 
a body of Texan troops under the command of Major Snively, 
by an officer in the service of the United States, acting under 
the orders of our government ; and the forcible entry mto the 
custom-house at Bryarly's landing, on Red Fiiver, by certain 
citizens of the United States, and taking away therefrom the 
goods seized by the collector of the customs as forfeited under 
the laws of Texas. Thi.s was a liquidated debt, ascertained 
to be due to Texas when an independent State. Her accept- 
ance of the terms of annexation proposed by the United States 
does not discharrre or invalidate the claim. I recommend 
that provision be made for its payment. 

The commissioner appointed to China during the special 
session of the Senate in March last, shortly afterwards set out 
on his mission in the United States ship Columbus. On ar- 
riving at Rio de Janeiro on his passage, the state of his health 
had become so critical, that, by the advice of his medical at- 
tendants, he returned to the United States early in the month 
of October last. Commodore Biddle, commanding the East 
India squadron, proceeded on his voyage in the Columbus, 
and was charged by the commissioner with the duty of ex- 
changing Avith the proper authorities the ratifications of the 
treaty lately concluded with the Emperor of China. Since 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 189 

the return of the commissioner to the United States, his health 
has been much improved, and he entertains the confident be- 
lief that he will soon be able to proceed on his mission. 

Unfortunately, differences continue to exist among some of 
the nations of South America, which, following our example, 
have estabhshed their independence, while in others internal 
dissensions prevail. It is natural that our sympathies should 
be warmly enlisted for their welfare ; that we should desire 
that all controversies between them should be amicably ad- 
justed, and their governments administered in a manner to 
protect the rights, and promote the prosperity of their people. 
It is contrary, however, to our settled policy, to interfere in 
their controversies, Avhether external or internal. 

I have thus adverted to all the subjects connected Avith our 
foreign relations, to which I deem it necessary to 'call your 
attention. Our policy is not only peace with all, but good 
will towards all the Powers of the earth. While v>'e are just 
to all,- we require that all shall be just ta us. Excepting the 
differences with Mexico and Great Britain, our relations with 
all civilized nations are of the most satisfactory character. It 
is hoped that in this enlightened age, these differences may 
be amicably adjusted. 

"The Secretary of the Treasury, in his annual report to Con- 
gress, will communicate a full statement of the condition of 
our finances. The imports for the fiscal year ending on the 
30th of June last, were of the value of one hundred and sev- 
enteen millions two hundred and fifty-four thousand five hun- 
dred and sixty-four dollars, of which the amount exported 
was fifteen millions three hundred and forty-six thousand 
eight hundred and thirty dollars— leaving a balance of one 
hundred and one millions nine hundred and seven thousand 
seven hundred and thirty-four dollars for domestic consump- 
tion. The exports for the same year were of the value of 
one liundred and fourteen millions six hundred and forty-six 
thousand six hundred and sbv dollars ; of which, the amount 



190 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

of domestic articles was ninety-nine millions two hundred an4. 
ninety-nine thousand seven hundred and seventy-six dollars. 
The receipts into the treasury during the same year were 
twenty-nine millions seven hundred and sixty -nine thousand 
one hundred and thirty-three dollars and fifty-six cents ; of 
which, there were derived from customs, twenty-seven millions 
five hundred and twenty-eight thousand one hundred and 
twelve dollars and seventy cents ; from sales of public lands, 
two millions seventy-seven thousand and twenty-two dollars 
and thirty cents ; a-nd from incidental and miscellaneous 
sources, one hundred and sixty-three thousand nine hundred 
and ninety-eight dollars and fifty-six cents. The expenditures 
for the same period were twenty-nine millions nine hundi-ed 
and sixty-eight thousand two hundred and six dollars and 
ninety-eight cents ; of which eight millions five hundred and 
eighty-eight thousand one hundred and fifty-seven dollars and 
sixty-two cents were applied to the payment of the public 
debt. The balance in the treasury on the first of July last, 
was seven millions six hundred and fifty-eight thousand three 
hundred and six dollars and twenty-two cents. 

The amount of public debt remaining upaid on the first of 
October last, Vt'as seventeen millions seventy-five thousand 
four hundred and forty-five dollars and fifty-two cents. Fur- 
ther payments of the public debt would have been made in 
anticipation of the period of its reimbursement imder the au- 
thority conferred ujion the Secretarj' of the Treasurj^ by the 
acts of July twenty-first, 1841, and of April fifteenth, 1842, 
and March third, 18,43, had not the unsettled state of our re- 
lations with Mexico menaced hostile collision with that power. 
.In view of such a contingency, it was deemed prudent to re- 
tain in the treasury an amount iinusually large for ordinary 
purposes. 

A few years cigo, our whole national debt growing- out of 
the Revolution and the war of 1812 with Great Britain, was 
extinguished, and we presented to the world the rare and 



1845.J FIRST ANMUAL MESSAGE. 191 

noble spectacle of a great and growing people who had fully 
discharged every obligation. Since that time, the existing 
debt has been contracted ; and small as it is, in comparison 
with the similar burdens of most other nations, it should be 
extinguished at the earliest practicable period. Should the 
state of the country permit, and, especially, if our foreign 
relations interpose no obstacle, it is contemplated to apply all 
tlie moneys in the treasury as they accrue, beyond what is 
required for the appropriations by Congress, to its liquidation. 
I cherish the ho;^e of soon beinif able to couo-ratulate the 
country on its recuvciin,;- once more the lofty position wliich 
it so recently occupied. Our country, which exhibits to the 
v.orld the benefits of self-government, in developing all the 
sources of national prosperity, owes to mankind the perma- 
nent example of a nation free from the blighting influence of 
a public debt. 

'i'he attention of Congress is invited to the importance of 
making suitable modifications and reductions of the rates of* 
duty imposed by our present tariff laws. The object of im- 
posing duties on imports should be to raise rev^enue to paiy 
the necessary expenses of government. Congress may, un- 
doubtedly, in the exercise of a sound discretion, discriminate 
in arranging the rates of duty on different articles ; but the 
discriminations shovdd be within the revenue standard, and be 
made with a view to raise money for the support of govern- 
ment. 

It becomes important to understand distinctly what is meant 
by a revenue standard, the maximum of which should not be 
exceeded in the rates of duty imposed. It is conceded, and 
experience proves, that duties may be laid so high as to di- 
minish, or prohibit altogether, the importation of any given 
article, and thereby lessen or destroy the revenue which, at 
lower rates, would be derived from its importation. Such 
duties exceed the revenue rates, and are not imposed to raise 
money for the support of governm-ent. If Congress levy a 



192 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

duty, for revenue, of one per cent, on a given article, it will 
produce a given amount of money to the treasury, and will 
incidentally and necessarily afford protection, or advantage, 
to the amount of one per cent, to the home manufacturer of 
a similar or like article, over the importer. If the duty be 
raised to ten per cent., it will produce a greater amount of 
money, and afford greater protection. If it be still raised to 
twenty, twenty-five or thirty per cent., and if, as it is raised, 
the revenue derived from it is found to be increased, the pro- 
tection or advantage will also be increased ; but if it be 
raised to thirty-one per cent., and it is found that the reve- 
nue produced at that rate is less than thirty per cent., it 
ceases to be a revenue duty. The precise point in the as- 
cending scale of duties at which it is ascertained from experi- 
ence that the revenue is greatest, is the. maximum rate of 
duty which can be laid for the hona fide purpose of collecting 
jnoney for the support of government. To raise the duties 
higher than that point, and thereby diminish the amount col- 
lected, is to levy them for protection merel3', and not fir 
revenue. As long, then, as Congress may gradually increase 
the rate of duty on a given article, and the revenue is in- 
creased by such increase of duty, they are within the revenue 
standard. When they go beyond that point, and, as they 
increase the duties the revenue is diminished or destroyed, 
the act ceases to have for its object the raising of money to 
support government, but is for protection merely. 

It does not follow that Congress should levy the highest 
duty on all articles of import which they will bear within the 
revenue standard ; for such rates would pj-obably produce a 
much larger amount than the economical administration of 
the government would require. Nor does it follow that the 
duties on all articles should be at the same or a horizontal 
rate. Some articles will bear a much higher revenue duty than 
others. Below the maximum of the revenue standard Con- 
gress may and ought to discriminate in the rates imposed, tak- 



1845-] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 193 

ing care so to adjust them on different articles as to produce 
in the aggregate, the amount which, when added to the pro- 
ceeds of the sales of public lands, may be needed to pay the 
economi,€al expenses of government. 

In levying a tariff of duties. Congress exercises the taxing 
power, and for purposes of revenue may select the objects of 
taxation. They may exempt certain articles altogether, and 
permit their importation free of duty. On others they may 
impose low duties. In these classes may be embraced such 
articles of necessity as are in general use, and especially such 
as are consumed by the laborer and the poor as well as by 
the wealthy citizen. Care should be taken that all the great 
interests of the country, including manufactiu-es, agriculture, 
commerce, navigation and the mechanic arts, should, as far 
as may be practicable, derive equal advantages from the inci- 
dental protection which a just system of revenue duties may 
afford. Taxation, direct or indirect, is a burden, and it should 
be so imposed as to operate as equally as may be, on all 
classes, in the proportion of their ability to bear it. To make 
the taxing power an actual benefit to one class, necessarily 
mcreases.the burden of the others beyond their proportion, 
and wovdd be manifestly unjust. 

The terms " protection to domestic industry," are of pop- 
ular import ; but they should apply under a just system to 
all the various branches of industry in our country. The 
farmer or planter who toils yearly in his fields, is engaged in 
" domestic industry," and is as much entitled to have his labor 
" protected," as the nmnufactui'er, the man of commerce, the 
navigator, or the mechanic, who are engaged also in " domes- 
tic industry " in their different pursuits. The joint labors of 
all these classes constitute the aofffrerate of the " domestic 
industry " of the nation, and they are equally entitled to the 
nation's " pi'otection." No one of them can justly claim to 
be the exclusive- recipients of "protection," which can only 
be afforded by increasing burdens on the " domestic indus- 
try " of the others. 



194 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

If these A'iews be correct, it remains to inquire how far the 
tariff act of 1S42 is consistent with them. That many of the 
provisions of that act are in violation of the cardinal principles 
here laid down, all must concede. The rates of duty^imposfed 
by it on some articles are prohibitory, and on others so high 
as greatly to diminish importations, and to produce a less 
amount of revenue than would be derived from lower rates. 
They operate as " protection merely," to one branch of " do- 
mestic industry," by taxing other branches. 

By the introduction of minimums, or assumed and false 
values, and by the imposition of specific duties, the injustice 
and inequahty of the act of 18-42, in its practical operations 
on different classes and pursuits, are seen and felt. Many 
of the oppressive duties imposed by it under the operation of 
these principles, range from one per cent., to more than two 
hundred per cent. 

They are prohibitory^ on some articles, and partially so on 
others, and bear most heavily on articles of common neces- 
sity, and but lightly on articles of luxury. It is so framed 
that much the greatest burden Avhich it imposes is thrown 
on labor and the poorer classes who are least able to bear it, 
while it protects capital, and exempts the rich from paying 
their just proportion of the taxation required for the support 
of government. While it protects the capital of the Avealthy 
manufacturer, and increases his profits, it does not benefit the 
operatives or laborers in his employment, whose wages have 
not been increased by it. Articles of prime necessity or of 
coarse quality and low price, used by the masses of the peo- 
ple, are in many instances subjected by it to heavy taxes, 
while articles of finer quality and higher price, or of luxury, 
which can be used only by the opulent, are lightly taxed. It 
imposes heavy and unjust burdens on the farmer, the planter, 
the commercial man, and those of all other pursuits except 
the capitalist who has made his investments in manufactures. 
All the great interests of the country are not, as nearly as 
may be practicable, equally protected by it. 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 195 

The government, in theory, knows no distinction of per- 
sons or classes, and should not bestow upon some favors and 
privileges which all others may not enjoy. It was the pur- 
pose of its illustrious founders to base the institutions which 
they reared upon the great and unchanging principles of jus- 
tice and equity, conscious that if administered in the spirit in 
which they were conceived, they would be felt only by the 
benefits which they diffused, and would secure for themselves 
a defence in the hearts of the people, more powerful than 
standing, armies, and all the means and appliances invented 
to sustain governments founded in justice and oppression. 

The well-known fact, that the tariff act of 1842 was passed 
by a majority of one vote in the Senate, and two in the House 
of Representatives, and that some of those who felt them- 
selves constrained, under the peculiar circumstances existing 
at the time, to vote in its favor, proclaimed its defects, and ex- 
pressed their determination to aid in its modificaton on the 
first opportunity, affords strong and conclusive evidence that 
it was not intended to be permanent, and of the expediency 
and necessity of its thorough revision. 

In recommending to Congress a reduction of the present 
rates of duty, and a revision and modification of the act of 
1842,'Iamfar from entertaining opinions unfriendly to the 
manufacturers. On the contrary, 1 desire to see them pros- 
perous, as far as they can be so, without imposing unequal 
burdens on other interests. The advantage under any sys- 
tem of indirect taxation, even within the revenue standard, 
must be in favor of the manufacturing interest ; and of this 
no other interest Avill complain. 

I recommend to Congress the abolition of the minimum 
principle, or assumed, arbitrary, and false values, and of spe- 
cific duties, and the substitution in their place of ad valorem 
duties, as the fairest and most equitable indirect tax which 
can be imposed. By the ad valorem principle, all articles are 
taxed according to their cost or value, and those which are 



196 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

of inferior quality, or of small cost, bear only the just pro- 
portion of the tax with those which are of superior quality or 
l^reater cost. The articles consumed by all are taxed at the 
same rate. A system of ad valorem revenue duties, with 
proper discriminations and proper guards against frauds in 
collecting them, it is not doubted, will afford ample incidental 
advantages to the manufacturers, and enable them to derive 
as great jDrofits as can be derived from any other regular busi- 
ness. It is believed that such a system, strictly within the 
revenue standard, v/ill place the manufacturing interests on a 
stable footing, and enure to their permanent advantage ; 
while it will, as nearly as may be practicable, extend to all the 
{••reat interests of the country the incidental protection which 
can be afforded by our revenue laws. Such a system, when 
once firmly established, would be permanent, and not be sub- 
ject to the constant complaints, agitations and changes which 
must ever occur, when duties are not laid for revenue, but 
for the " protection merely" of a favored interest. 

In the deliberations of Congress on this subject, it is hoped 
that a spirit of mutual concession and compromise between 
conflicting interests may prevail, and that the result of their 
labors may be crowned with the happiest consequences. 

By the constitution of the United States it is provided, that 
" no money shall be drawn from the treasury but in conse- 
quence of appropriations made by law." A public treasury 
was undoubtedly contemplated and intended to be created, 
in which the public money should be kept from the period of 
collection until needed for public uses. In the collection 
and disbursement of the public money, no agencies have 
ever been employed by law, except such as were appointed 
by the government, directly responsible to it, and under its 
control. The safe keeping of the public money should be 
confided to a public treasury created by law, and under like 
respon-sibility and control. It is not to be imagined that the 
framers of the constitution could have intended that a treas- 



1845. j FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 197 

ury should be ci'eated as a place of deposit and safe-keeping 
of the public money which was irresponsible to the govern- 
ment. The first Congress under the constitution, by the act 
of the second September,- 1789, " to establish the Treasury 
Department," provided for the appointment of a treasurer, 
and made it his duty " to receive and keep the moneys of the 
United States," and " at all times to submit to the Secretary 
of the Treasury and the Comptroller, or either of them, the 
inspection of the moneys in his hands." 

That banks, national or State, could not have been intended 
to be used as a substitute for the treasury spoken of in the 
constitution, as keepers of the public money, is manifest from 
the fact, that at that time there was no national bank, and 
but three or four State banks of limited capital existed in the 
country. Their employment as depositories was at first re- 
sorted to, to a hmited extent, but Avith no avowed intention 
of continuing them permanentl}', in place of the treasury of 
the constitution. When they were afterwards from time to 
time employed, it was from motives of supposed convenience. 

Our experience has sliown, that when banking corporations 
have been the keepers of the public money, and been thereby 
made in effect the treasury, the government can have no guar- 
anty that it can command the use of its own money for pub- 
lic purposes. The late Bank of the United States proved 
to be faitliless. The State banks, which Avere afterwards em- 
ployed, were faithless. But a few years ago, Avith millions of 
public money in their keeping, the government Avas brought 
almost to bankruptcy, and the public credit seriously im- 
paired, because of their inability or indisposition to pay, on 
demand, to the public creditors, in the only currency recog- 
nized by the constitution. 'I'heir failure occurred in a period 
of peace, and great inconvenience and loss Avere suffered by 
the public from it. Had the country been involved in a for- 
eign Avar, that inconvenience and loss Avould have been much 
greater, and might have resulted in extreme public calamity. 



198 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

The public money should not be min:^led with the private 
funds of banks or individuals, or be used for private pur- 
poses. When it is placed in banks for safe keeping, it is in 
effect loaned to them without interest, and is loaned by thern 
upon interest to the borrowers from tliem. The public money 
is converted into banking capital, and is used and loaned out 
for the private profit of bank stockholders ; and wdien called 
for (as was the case in 1 837), it may be in the pockets of the 
borrowers from the banks, instead of being in the public 
treasury contemplated by the constitution. The framers of 
the constitution could never have intended that the money 
paid into the treasury should be thus converted to private 
use, and placed beyond the control of the government. 

Banks Avhich hold the public money are often tempted, by 
a desire to gain, to extend their loans, increase their circula- 
tion, and tluis stimulate, if not produce a spirit of speculation 
and extravagance, which sooner or later must result in ruin 
to thousands. If the public money be not permitted to be 
thus used, but be kept in the treasury and paid out to the 
public creditors in gold and silver, the temptation afforded by 
its deposite with banks to an undue expansion of their busi- 
ness, would be checked, Avhile the amount of the constitu- 
tional currency left in circulation would be enlai'ged, by its 
employment in the public collections and disbursements, and 
the banks themseh es would, in consequence, be found in a 
safer and sounder condition. 

At present. State banks are employed as depositories, but 
without adequate regulation of law, wdiereby the public mon 
ey can be secured against the casualties and excesses, revul 
sions, suspensions, and defalcations, to which, from over-issues 
over-trading, an inordinate desire for gain, or other causes- 
they are constantly exposed. The Secretary of the Treasury 
lias in all cases, when it was practicable, taken collateral se- 
curity for the amount which they hold, by the pledge of 
stocks of the United States, or such of the States as were in 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 199 

good credit. Spme of the depositc banks have given this 
description of security, and others have dechned to do so. 

Entertaining the opinion that " tlie separation of the moneys 
of the government from banking institutions is indispensable 
for the safety of the funds of the government and the rights 
of the people," I recommend to Congress that provision bo 
made by law for such separation, and that a constitutional 
treasury be created for the safe-keeping of the public mpney. 
The constitutional treasuiy recommended is designed as a se- 
cure depository for the public money, without any power to 
make loans or discounts, or to issue any paper whatever as a 
currency or circulation. I cannot doubt that such a treasury 
as was contemplated by the constitution, should be independ- 
ent of all banking corporations. The money of the people 
should be kept in the treasury of the people created by law, 
and be in the custody of agents of the people chosen by 
themselves, according to the form of the constitution ; agents 
who are directly responsible to the government, who are un- 
der adequate bonds and oaths, and who are subject to severe 
punishments for any embezzlement, private use, or misappli- 
cation of the public funds, and for any failure in other respects 
to perform their duties. To say that the people of their gov- 
ernment are incompetent, or not to be trusted with the cus- 
tody of their own money, in their own treasury, provided by 
tliemselves, but must rely on the presidents, cashiers, and 
stockholders of banking corporations, not appointed by them, 
nor responsible to them, would be to concede that they are 
incompetent for self-government. 

In recommending the establishment of a constitutional 
treasury, in which the public money shall be kept, I desire 
that adequate provision be made by law for its safety, and 
that all executive discretion or control over it shall be remov- 
ed, except such as may he necessary in directing its dis- 
bursements in pursuance of appropriations made by law. 

Under our present land system, limiting the mmimum price 



200 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845 

at which the public lands can be entered to one dollar and 
twentv-five cents per acre, large quantities of lands of inferior 
quality remain unsold, because they will not command that 
price. From the records of the General Land Office it ap- 
pears, that, of the public lands remaining unsold in the seve- 
ral states and territories in which they are situated, thirty-nine 
millions one hundred and five thousand five hundred and sev- 
enty-^even acres have been in the market, subject to entry, 
more than twenty years ; forty-nine millions six hundred and 
thirty-eight thousand six hundred and forty-four acres for 
more than fifteen years ; seventy-three millions seventy-four 
thousand and six hundred acres for more than ten years ; and 
one hundred and six miUions one hvmdred and seventy-six 
thousand nine hundred and sixty-one acres for more than five 
years. Much the largest portion of these lands will continue 
to be unsaleable at the minimum price at which they are per- 
mitted to be sold, so long as large territories of lands from 
which the more valuable portions have not been selected are 
annually brought into market by the government. With the 
view to the sale and settlement of tliese inferior lands, I rec- 
ommend that the price be graduated and reduced below the 
present minimum rate, confining the sales at the reduced pri- 
ces to settlers and cultivators in limited quantities. If grad- 
uated and reduced in price for a limited term to one dollar per 
acre, and after the expiration of that period, for a second and 
third term to lower rates , a large portion of these lands Avould 
be purchased, and many worthy citizens, who are unable to pa) 
higher rates, could purchase homes for themselves and their 
families. By adopting the policy of graduation and reduction 
of price, these inferior lands will be sold for their real value, 
while the states in Avhich they lie will be freed from the in- 
convenience, if not injustice to which tliey are subjected, in 
consequence of the United States continuing to own large 
quantities of public lands within their borders, not liable to 
taxation for the support of their local governments. 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 201 

I recommend the continuance of the policy of granting pre- 
emptions, in its most liberal extent, to all those who have 
settled, or may hereafter settle, on the public lands, whether 
surveyed or unsurveyed, to which the Indian title may have 
been extinguished at the time of settlement. It has been 
found by experience, that in consequence of combinations of 
purchasers and other causes', a very small quantity of the 
pubhc lands, when sold at public auction, commands a higher 
price than the minimum rate estabhshed by law. The settlers 
on the public lands are, however, but rarely able to secure 
their homes and improvements at the public sales at that rate ; 
because these combinations, by means of the capital they 
command, and their superior ab.iity to purchase, render it im- 
possible for the settler to compile with them in the market. 
By putting down all competition, these combinations of capi- 
talists and speculators are usually enabled to purchase the 
lands, including the improvements of the settlers, at the mini- 
mum pri6e of the government, and either turn them out of 
their homes, or extort from them, according to their ability to 
pay, double or quadruple the amount paid for them to the 
government. It is to the enterprise and perseverance of the 
hardy pioneers of the west, who penetrate the wilderness with 
their families, suffer the dangers, the privations and hardships 
attending the settlement of a new country, and prepare the 
way for the body of emigrants who, in the course of a few 
yeai-s, usually follow them, that we are, in a great degree, in- 
indebted for the rapid extension and aggrandizement of our 
country. 

Experience has proved that no portion of our population 
are more patriotic than the hardy and brave men of the fron- 
tier, or more ready to obey the call of their country, and to 
defend her rights and her honor, whenever and by whatever 
^nerny assailed. They should be protected from the grasp- 
ing speculator, and secured, at the minimum price of tne 
public lands, in the humble homes whijch they have improved 
9* 



202 JAMES KNOX FOLK. [1845- 

by their labor. With this end in view, all vexatious or un- 
necessary restrictions imposed upon them by the existing pre- 
emption laws, should be repealed or modified. It is the true 
pohcy of the government to afford facihties to its citizens to 
become the owners of small portions of our vast public domain 
at low and moderate rates. 

The present system of managing the mineral lands of the 
United States is beheved to be radically defective. More 
than a million of acres of the public lands, supposed to contain 
lead and other minerals, have been reserved from sale, and 
numerous leases upon them have been granted to individuals 
upon a stipulated rent. The system of granting leases has 
proved to be not only unprofitable to the government, but 
unsatisfactory to the citizens who have gone upon the lands, 
and must, if continued, lay the foundation of much future 
difficulty between the government and the lessees. Accord- 
ing to the official records, the amount of rents received by 
the government for the years 1841, 1842, 1843, and 1844, 
was $6,3^4. 74, while the expenses of the system during the 
same period, including salaries of superintendents, agents, 
clerks, and incidental expenses, Avcre twenty-six thousand one 
hundred and eleven dollars and eleven cents — the income 
being less than one-fourth of the expenses. To this pecuni- 
ary loss may be added the injury sustained by the public in 
consequence of the destruction of timber, and the careless 
and wasteful manner of working the mines. The system has 
given rise to much litigation between the United States and 
individual citizens, producing imtation and excitement in the 
mineral region, and involving the government in heavy addi- 
tional expenditures. It is believed that similar losses and 
embarrassments will continue to occur, while the present 
system of leasing these lands remains unchanged. These 
lands are now under the superintendence and care of the 
War Department, with the ordinary duties of which they 
have no proper or natural connexion. I recommend the re- 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 203 

peal of the present system, and that these lands be placed 
under the superintendence and management of the General 
Land Office, as other public lands, and be brought into mar- 
ket and sold upon such terms as Congress in their* wisdom 
may prescribe, reserving' to the government an equitable per 
centage of the gross amount of mineral product, and that the 
preemption principle be extended to resident miners and set- 
tlers upon them, at the minimum price which may be estab- 
lished by Congress. 

I refer you to the accompanying report of the Secretary 
of War, for information respecting the present situation of 
the army, and its operations duiing the past year ; the state - 
of our defences ; the condition of the public Avorks ; and our 
relations with the various Indian tribes within our limits or 
upon our borders. I invite your attention to the suggestions 
contained in that report, in relation to tliese prominent objects 
of national interest. 

When orders were given during the past summer for concen- 
trating a military force on the western frontier of Texas, our 
troops Avere Avidely dispersed, and in small detachments, occu- 
pying posts remote from each other. The prompt and expedi- 
tious manner in w^iich an army, embracing more than half our 
peace establishment, Avas drawn together on an emergency so 
sudden, reflects great credit on the officers who were entrusted 
with the execution of these orders, as well as upon the disci- 
pline of the army itself. 

To be in strength to protect and defend the people and 
territory of Texas, in the event Mexico should commence 
hostilities, or invade her territories Avith a large army, which she 
threatened, I authorized the general assigned to the command 
of the army of occupation to make requisitions for additional 
forces from scA-eral of the States nearest the Texan territory, 
and which could most expeditiously furnish them, if, in his 
opinion, a larger force than that under his command, and the 
auxiliary aid Avhich, under like circumstances, he was author- 



204 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

ized to receive from Texas, should be required. The con- 
tingency upon which the exercise of this authority depended, 
has not occurred. The circumstances under which two com- 
panies of State artillery from the city of New Orleans were 
sent into Texas, and mustered into the ser\-ice of the United 
States, are fully stated in the report of the Secretary of War. 
I recommend to Congress that provision be made for the 
payment of these troops, as well as the small number of Tex- 
an volunteers, whom the commanding general thought it 
necessary to receive or muster into our service. 

During the last summer, the first regiment of dragoons 
made extensive excursions through the Indian country on our 
borders, a part of them advancing nearly to the possessions 
of the Hudson's Cay Company in the north, and a part as far 
as the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, and the head 
waters of the tributary streams of the Coloi-ado of the West. 
The exhibition of this military force among the Indian tribes 
in those distant regions, and the councils held with them by 
the commanders of the expeditions, it is-beheved, will have a 
salutary influence in restraining them from hostilities among 
themselves, and maintaining friendly relations between them 
and the United States. An interesting account of one of 
these excursions accompanies the report of the Secretary of 
War. Under the directions of the War Department, Brevet 
Captain Fremont, of the corps of topographical engineers, 
has been employed, since 1842 in exploring the country west 
of the Mississippi, and beyond the Rocky Mountains. Tavo 
expeditions have already been brought to a close, and the re- 
ports of that scientific and enterprising officer have furnished 
much interesting and valuable information. He is now en- 
gaged in a third expedition ; but it is not expected that this 
arduous service will be completed in season to enable me to 
communicate the result to Congress at the present session. 

Our relations with the Indian tribes are of a favorable char- 
acter. The policy of removing them to a country designed 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 205 

for their permanent residence west of the Mississippi, and 
without the hmits of the organized States and territories, is 
better appreciated by them than it was a few years ago ; 
while education is now attended to, and the habits of civil- 
ized life are e-ainino- oround among: them. 

Serious difficulties of lona: standing: continue to distract the 
several parties into which the Cherokees are unhappily di- 
vided. The efforts of the government to adjust the difficul- 
ties between them have lieretofore proved unsuccessful ; and 
there remains no probability that this desirable object can be 
accomplished without the aid of further legislation by Con- 
gress. I will, at an early period of your session, present the 
subject for your consideration, accompanied with an exposi- 
tion of the complaints and claims of the several parties into 
which the nation is divided, with a view to the adoption of 
such measures by Congress as may enable the Executive to 
do justice to them respectively, and to put an end, if possible, 
to the dissensions which have long pre\ailed, and still prevail, 
among them. 

I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Navy for 
the present condition of that branch of the national defence, 
and for grave suggestions, having for their object the increase 
of its efficiency-, and a greater economy in its management. 
During the past j^ear, the officers and men have performed 
their duty in a satisfactory manner. The orders which have 
been given, have been executed with promptness and fidelity. 
A larger force than has often formed one squadron under our 
flag, was readily concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico, and 
apparently without vmusual effort. It is especially to be ob- 
served, that notwithstanding: the union of so considerable a 
force, no act was committed that even the jealousy of an irri- 
tated power could construe as an act of aggression ; and that 
the commander of the squadron, and his officers, in strict 
conformity to their instructions, holding themselves ever ready 
for the most active duty, have achieved the still purer glory 



206 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

of contributing to the preservation of peace. It is believed 
that at all our foreign stations the honor of our flag has been 
maintained, and that, generally, our ships of war have been 
distinguished for their good discipline and order. I am happy 
to add, that the display of maritime force which was required 
by the events of the summer, has been made wholly within 
the usual appropriations for the service of the year ; so that 
no additional appropriations are required. 

The commerce of the United States, and with it the navi- 
gating interest, have steadily and rapidly increased since the 
oro-anization of our government, until, it is believed, we are 
now second to but one power in the world, and at no distant 
day we shall probably be inferior to none. Exposed as they 
must be, it has been a wise policy to afford to these import- 
ant interests protection with our ships of Avar, distributed in 
the great highways of trade throughout the world. For more 
than thirty years appropriations have been made, and annu- 
ally expended, for the gradual increjise of our naval forces. 
In peace, our navy performs the important duty of protecting 
our commerce ; and, in the event of war, will be, as it has 
been, a most efficient means of defence. 

The successful use of steam navigation on the ocean has 
been followed by the introduction of war-steamers in great 
and increasing numbers into the navies of the principal mari- 
time powers of the world. A due regard to our own safety 
and to an efficient protection to our large and increasing com- 
merce demands a corresponding increase on our part. Ko 
country has greater facilities for the construction of vessels of 
this description than ours, or can promise itself greater advan- 
tages from their employment. They are admirably adapted 
to the protection of our commerce, to the rapid transmission 
of intelligence, and to the coast defence. In pursuance of 
the wise policy of a gradual increase of our navy, large sup- 
plies of live-oak timber, and other materials for ship building, 
have been collected, and are now under shelter and in a state 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 20T 

of good preservation, Avliile iron steamers can be built vrith 
great facility in vai-ious parts of the Union. 

The use of iron as a material, especially in the construction 
of steamers, which can enter with safety many of the harbors 
along our coast now inaccessible to vessels of greater draught, 
and the practicability of constructing them in the interior, 
strongly recommends that libei-al appropriations should be 
made for this important object. Whatever may have been 
our policy in the earlier stages of the government, when the 
nation was in its infancy, our shipping interests and commerce 
comparatively small, our resources limited, our population 
sparse, and scarcely extending beyond the limits of the orig- 
inal thirteen states, that pohcy must be essentially different 
now that we have grown from three to more than twenty 
millions of people, — that our commerce, carried in our own 
ships, is found in every sea, and that our territorial bounda- 
ries and settlements have been so greatly expanded. Neither 
our ooramerce, nor our long line of coast on the ocean and on 
the lakes, can be successfully defended against foreign ag- 
gression by means of fortifications alone. These are essential 
at important commercial and military points, but our chief 
reliance for this object must be on a well organized, efficient 
navy. The benefits resulting from such a navy are not con- 
. fined to the Atlantic states. The productions of the interior 
which seek a market abroad, are directly dependent on the 
safety and freedom of our commerce. The occupation of the 
Balize belov/ New Orieans by a hostile force would embar- 
rass, if not stagnate, the whole export trade of the Mississip- 
pi, and affect the valley of the agricultural products of ^the 
entire valley of that miglity river and its tributaries. 

It has never been our policy to maintain large standing 
armies in time of peace. They are contrary to the genius of 
our free institutions, would impose heavy burdens on the 
people, and be dangerous to pubhc liberty. Our reliance for 
protection and defence on the land K.ust be mainly on our 



208 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

citizen soldiers, who Avill be evci- ready, as thev ever liave 
been ready in times past, to rush with alacrity, at the call of 
their country, to her defence. This description of force, how- 
ever, cannot defend our coasts, harbors, and inland seas, nor 
protect our commerce on the ocean oi- the lakes. These 
must be piotected by our navy. 

Considering an increased naval force, and especially of 
steam vessels, corresponding with our growth and impor- 
tance as a nation, and proportioned to the increasing naval 
force of other nations, of vast importance as regards our 
safety, and the great and growing interests to be protected 
by it, I recommend the subject to the favorable consideration 
of Congress. 

The report of the Post Master General herewith commu- 
nicated, contains a detailed statement of the operations of his 
department during the past year. It will be seen that the 
income from postages will fall short of the expenditures for 
the year between one and two oiillions of dollars. This de- 
ficiency has been caused by the leduction of the rates of 
postage, which was made by the act of the Sd of March last. 
No principle has been more gonerallv acquiesced in by the 
people than that tliis department should sustain itself by lim- 
iting its expenditures to its income. Congress has never 
sought to make it a source of revenue for general purposes, 
except for a short period during the last war with Great Brit- 
ain, nor should it ever become a chai-ge on the general treas- 
ury. If Congress shall adhere to this principle, as I think 
tliey ought, it will be necessary either to curtail the present 
mail service, so as to reduce the expenditures, or so to mod- 
ify t*lie act of the tliird of March last as to improve its reve- 
nues. The extension of the mail service, and the additional 
facilities wiiich will be demanded by tlie rapid extension and 
increase of population .on our western frontier, will not admit 
of such curtailment as will materially reduce the present ex- 
penditures. In the adjustment of the tariff of postages, the 



1845.J FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 209 

interest of tlie people demand that the lowest rates be adopted 
which will produce the necessary revenue to meet the expend- 
itures of the department. I invite the attention of Congress 
to the suggestions of the Post Master General on this subject, 
under the behef that such a modification of the late law may- 
be made as will yield sufficient revenue without further calls 
on the treasury, and with very httle change in the present 
rates of postage. 

Proper measures have been taken, in pursuance of the act 
of the third of March last, for the establishment of lines of 
mail steamers between this and foreign counti'ies. The im- 
portance of this service commends itself strongly to favorable 
consideration. 

With the growth of our country, the publ'c business which 
devolves on the heads of the several Executive Departments 
has greatly increased. In some respects, the distribution of 
duties among them seems to be incongruous, and many of 
these might be transferred from one to another with advan- 
tage to tliu public interests. A more auspicious time for the 
consideration of this subject by Congress, with a view to sys- 
tem in the organization of the several departments, and a 
more appropriate division of the public business, Avill not 
probably occur. 

The most important duties of the State Department relate 
to our foreign affairs. By the great enlargement of the fami- 
ly of nations, the increase of our commerce, and the corres- 
ponding extension of our consular system, the business of this 
department has been greatly increased. In its present or- 
ganization, many duties of a domestic nature, and consistino- 
of details, are devolved on the Secretaiy of State, which do 
not appropriately belong to the foreign department of the 
government, and may properly be transferred to some othei 
department. One of these grows out of the present state ol 
the law concerning the Patent Office, which, a few years since, 
was a subordinate clerkship," but has become a distinct bureau 



210 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

of great importance. With an excellent internal organization, 
it is still connected with the State Department. In the trans- 
action of its business, questions of much importance to in- 
ventors, and to the community, frequently arise, which, by 
existing laws, are referred for decision to a board, of which 
the .Secretary of State is a member. These questions are 
legal, and the connexion Avhich now exists between the State 
Department and the Patent OfBce, may, with great propriety 
and advantage, be transferred to the Attorney- General. 

In his last annual message to Congress, Mr. Madison in- 
vited attention to a pi'oper provision for the Attorney-Gen- 
eral, " as an important improvement in the executive estab- 
lishment." This recommendation was repeated by some of 
his successors. The official duties of the Attorney-General 
have been much increased within a few years, and his office 
has become one of great importance. His duties may be 
still further increased with advantage to the public interests. 
As an executive officer, his residence and constant attention 
at the seat of government are required. Legal questions in- 
volving important principles, and large amounts of public 
money, are constantly referred to him by the President and 
executive departments for his examination and decision. The 
public business under his official management before the judi- 
ciary has been so augmented by the extension of our tervito- 
r}'', and the acts of Congress authorizing suits against the 
United States for large bodies of A-aluable public lands, as 
greatly to increase his labors and responsibilities. I therefore 
recommend that the Attorney- General be placed on the same 
footing with the heads of the other executive departments, 
witli such subordinate officers, provided by law for his de- 
partment, as may be required to dischargi^ the additional du- 
ties which have been or may be devolved upon him. 

Congress possess the power of exclusive legislation over the 
District of Colum.bia ; and I commend the interests of its in- 
habitants to your favorable consideration. The people of this 



1845.] FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 211 

District have no legislative body of their own, and must con- 
fide their local as well as their general interests to represent- 
atives in whose election they have no voice, and over whose 
official conduct they have no control. Each member of the 
National Legislature should consider himself as their imme- 
diate representative, and should be the more ready to give 
attention to their interests and wants, because he is not res- 
ponsible to them. I recommend that a liberal and generous 
spii'it may characterize your measures in relation to them. I 
shall ever be disposed to show a proper regard for their 
wishes ; and, within constitutional limits, shall at all times 
cheerfully cooperate with you for the advancement of their 
welfare. 

I trust it may not be deemed inappropriate to the occasion 
for me to dwell for a moment on the memory of the most 
eminent citizen of our country, who, during the summer that 
is gone by, has descended to the tomb. The enjoyment of 
contemplating, at the advanced age of near fourscore years, 
the happy condition of his country, cheered the last hours of 
Andrew Jackson, who departed this life in the tranquil hope 
of a blessed immortality. His death was happy, as his life 
had been eminently useful. He had an unfaltering confidence 
in the virtue and capacity of the people, and in the perma- 
nence of that free government which he had largely contrib- 
uted to establish and defend. His great deeds had secured to 
him the affections of his fellow-citizens, and it was his happi- 
ness to witness the growth and glory of his country, which he 
loved so well. He departed amidst the benedictions of mill- 
ions of freemen. The nation paid its tribute to his memory 
at his tomb. Coming generations will learn from his example 
the love of country and the rights of man. In his language 
on a similar occasion to the present, " I now commend you, 
fellow-citizens, to the guidance of Almighty God, with a full 
reliance on His merciful providence for the maintenance of 
our free institutions ; and with m earnest supplication, that, 



212 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845.> 

whatever errors it may be my lot to commit ia discharging; 
the arduous duties which have devolved on me, will find a 
remedy in the harmony and wisdom of your counsels." 

From the inaugural address, and the first annual mes- 
sage of President Polk, the reader will be able to form a 
pretty correct idea of the condition of the country with 
reference both to its domestic and its foreign relations^ 
and of the views and principles which he laid down, at 
the outset, for his guidance in administering the govern- 
ment ; and I have thought proper to insert these papers, 
here, in order that his position might be defined in his 
own language, — thus showing more clearly his apprecia- 
tion and understanding of that position. 

It is not within the scope or compass of this work, to 
present a detailed history of his administration. I pro- 
pose, in the first place, to consider the more prominent 
and important events connected with the foreign relations 
of the American government at this period, — as the Ore- 
gon question, and the war with Mexico^ — and then to 
present a succinct account or review of his administra- 
tion. First in the order of time is the Oregon question. 

Prior to the year 1819, there were three claimants to 
Oregon, — Great Britain, Spain, and the United States. 
The first at no time claimed the exclusive sovereignty 
over the territory to which there were so many conflict- 
ing titles ; but Spain and the United States had each 
maintained an exclusive right, though the former, prob- 
ably on account of the protracted war in Europe and her 
subsequent contests with her revolted colonies in South 
America, had not supported her pretensions by making 



1845-6. j THE OREGON QUESTION. 213 

settlements, or bj permanently occupying the country. 
Yet Spain always claimed the sovereignty over the whole 
northwest coast of America, up to the year 1819, by con- 
tiguity, which is the right of one nation to prevent others 
from occupying contiguous territory, when the command 
of it is essential to her security or convenience. Aside 
from this, the Spanish title was founded upon original 
discoveries, and it must be conceded to have been better 
fortified in this respect, than either of the other titles. 
The first navigator ^vho ever ascended as high as the 
43° N. latitude, on the northwestern coast of America, 
was Ferrelo, a pilot in the service of Spain, who reached 
that parallel in 1543 ; and in the year 1592, Juan de 
Fuca, a Greek, also in the Spanish service, discovered 
and sailed through t!ie strait now bearing his name. For 
many years the voyage of Fuca was considered fabulous, 
because repeated efforts were made, without success, to 
find the straits which he described ; but it was afterwards 
ascertained that his account corresponded with the geo- 
graphical features of the adjacent country, as settled by 
the exploratic-ns and examinations of subsequent navi- 
gators. 

For nearly two centuries the nortliwest coast of Amer- 
ica remained u^visited. In 1774, Bucareli, the viceroy 
of Mexico, commissioned Juan Perez to proceed, in a 
Spanish corvette called the Santiago, to the sixtieth de- 
gree of north latitude, and from that point to make a 
careful examination of the coast down to Mexico. Perez 
landed for the first time, on the northwest coast of Queen 
Charlotte's Island, near latitude 54° N. ; he then coasted 
along the shore of that island, and the great island of 



214 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-6. 

Quadra and Vancouver, and thence along the main land 
to Monterey, in California. He went on shore several 
times, and at different places, and held intercourse with 
the natives. He was the first European navigator that 
visited Nootka Sound, in 49° 30' N. latitude ; he anchored 
here on the 9th of August, 1774, and called it the port 
of San Lorenzo.* 

In the following year, Bucareli again fitted out the 
Santiago, and placed it under the command of Bruno He- 
ceta, with Perez as his ensign ; and also a schooner called 
the Sonora, which was commanded by Juan de la Bodega 
y Quadra. These officers were commissioned to examine 
the northwestern coast of America, as high as 65° N. lat- 
itude. They landed at various places on the coast, be- 
tween the 41st and 57th parallels, and on every occasion 
took possession in the name of their sovereign, according 
to a prescribed regulation ; they observed all the usual 
formalities, celebrated mass, read declarations asserl>ing 
the right of Spain, and erected crosses, with suitable in- 
scriptions, some of which were afterwards found by the 
English navigators. Heceta undoubtedly saw the mouth 
of the Columbia in 1775, which he called the Entrada de 
Heceta. From the currents and eddies, he supposed ho 
had discovered the mouth of a large stream, and after his 
return to Mexico, it was named the Rio de San Roque ; 
but he was inclined to the opinion that it was the opening 
of the Straits of Fuca. Quadra, in his expedition, ob- 
tained the bearings of the whole coast from the 27° to the 
58° of north latitude.! 

* Humboldt's New Spain, (Black's Translation) vol. ii., p. 316, et seq. 
t Humboldt, ibid., ubi supra. 



1845-6.] ENGLISH NAVIGATORS. 215 

By virtue of these discoveries, Spain laid exclusive claim 
to the northwestern coast of America, which she never sur- 
rendered, either directly or indirectly, until the Conven- 
tion of the Escurial, commonly called the Nootka Sound 
Convention, which was concluded in 1790, through the 
mediation of France. Pending the negotiations which 
preceded this Convention, the Spanish embassador at 
Paris, Count Fernan de Nunez, in a communication ad- 
dressed to M. de Montmorin, the Secretary of the Foreign 
department of France, on the 16th of June, 1790, insisted 
that " by the treaties, demarkations, takings of posses- 
sion, and the most decided acts of sovereignty exercised 
by the Spaniards in those stations, from the reign of 
Charles II., and authorized by that monarch in 1692," 
all the coast of Northwestern America, " on the side of 
the South Sea [Pacific], as far as beyond what is called 
Prince William's Sound, which is in the 61st degree," 
belonged exclusively to Spain. 

In 1579-80, Sir Francis Drake, in cruising along the 
western coast of America, for the sole purpose, as avowed 
by his biographers, of plundering the Spaniards, ascended 
as high as the 43d or 48th parallel. Fleurieu, in his 
introduction to Marchand, asserts that Drake sailed as 
far north as 48°, "yet Hakluyt, who wrote almost at 
the time that Drake flourished, informs us, that he got 
no higher than 43, having put back at that point, from 
the ' extreme cold.' "* England made no use of Drake's 
discovery, though her ministers were at one time inclined 
to go back to it to support their title ; and in 1845, her 

* Rush's Residence at the Court of London, p. 606. 



216 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

embassador at Washington, Mr. Pakenham, deliberately 
abandoned all the discoveries of England north of the 
• 42d degree, prior to those of Captain Cook, " as not suf- 
ficiently authenticated."* 

Captain Cook sailed from England in 1776, to dis- 
cover, if possible, the northwest passage supposed to 
connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The Spanish 
discoveries on the northwestern coast of America had 
already been made public, and he admits in his journal 
that he had heard of them. In 1778, he saw Cape Flat- 
tery, but he did not know it was the southern extremity 
of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, and he never landed any- 
where on the continent south of Nootka Sound. After 
leaving Nootka, he did not touch the coast again till he 
reached 57° N. latitude. Such, ^nd so unimportant, 
were the discoveries of Cook. Yet they constituted the 
corner-stone of the English title, and we cannot wonder 
that a most frail superstructure v»as reared, on a founda- 
tion so unsubstantial. 

Another link, still more defective, in the English title, 
was the discovery of the Straits of Fuca by Captain 
Berkeley, a British subject, in 1787. But Juan de Fuca 
had seen them, and sailed through them, nearly two hun- 
dred years before ; and besides, Captain Berkeley was in 
the employment of Au-tria, and sailed under her colors. 

After the death of Captain Cook, his vessels sailed foj' 
Canton, where the furs which they had procured on the 
northwest coast of America, were disposed of to great ad- 
vantage. Attracted by the hope of gain. Lieutenant 

* Communication of Mr. Pakenbam to Mr. Buchanan, July 29, 1845. 



1845-6. J NOOTKA SOUND CONVENTION. 217 

Meares, a British officer, sailed from Macao, with a few 
companions, in 1788, on a strictly mercantile expedition, 
and under th-e Portuguese flag. He attempted to find 
the Rio de San Roque, or Columbia River, as it was in 
a few years called ; but after considerable examination, 
he denied the existence of the stream, and named the 
northern cape of the bay at its mouth. Cape Disappoint- 
ment. He established himself and his companions at 
Nootka Sound, and commenced trading with the Indians 
for furs. When the Viceroj^ of Mexico heard of his pro- 
ceedings, he dispatched Martinez, a Spanish officer, with 
three armed vessels, with orders to drive off the intrud- 
ers. This was done in May, 1789. Martinez seized 
Meares' vessels and took his men prisoners ; and he also 
erected a fort at Nootka. 

Spain then demanded satisfaction for this intrusion 
upon her possessions, and England met the demand by a 
claim for redress for the injury to Meares and his prop- 
erty. After some display of warlike preparations, 
through the mediation of France, the two governments 
united in the Convention of the Escurial, or the Nootka 
Sound Convention, which was concluded on the 28th of 
October, 1790. By this convention it was stipulated, 
tbat the buildings and tracts of land of which Meares had 
been dispossessed, should be restored ; that the respect- 
ive subjects of England and Spain should not be disturbed 
in navigating or fishing in the Pacific or in the South 
Si-as, or in landing on the coast of those seas in places 
not already occupied, for the purpose of commerce with 
the natives, or of making settlement there ; and tliut in 
all places on the coast north of 38°, wherever the subjects 
10 



218 JAMES KNOX FOLK. [1845-6. 

of either nation should thereafter make settlements, the 
subjects of the other were to have free access.* 

Viewed in connection with the origin of the difficulty 
between England and Spain, which was settled by the 
Nootka Convention, the object of that agreement was ob- 
vious. England desired to protect her subjects engaged 
in the fur trade, and the settlements referred to were cer- 
tainly nothing more than trading posts or establishments. 
She made no claim of sovereignty over the territory, nor 
did Spain on the other hand yield any rights which she 
had acquired by her prior discoveries. 

Immediately after the conclusion of the Nootka Con- 
vention, Captain Vancouver was dispatched by the British 
government, to receive the surrender of the buildings and 
tracts of land of which Meares and his companions had 
been dispossessed. A hut was offered to him which he 
refused to take, arid he then left Nootka Sound in the 
possession of the Spaniards, who remained there till 
1795, when they voluntarily abandoned the place. There 
is no evidence that any lands were ever restored to 
Meares ; Vancouver makes no mention of it in his jour- 
nal ; and the presumption is strong, therefore, against 
it. One thing is certain, however, — that the British 
never agaui reoccupied Nootka Sound, until the Oregon 
question was finally settled. 

Additional instructions were given to ■ Captain Van- 
couver, to survey the northwest coast of America, under 
which he subsequently performed the ridiculous farce of 
taking possession of it in the name of his government. 
He sailed round Vancouver's Island, to which, by an 

* Articles 1, 3, 5. 



1845-6.] CAPTAIN VANCOUVER. 219 

understanding with tlie Spanish navigator, the joint name 
of " Quadra and Vancouver" was given. He took pos- 
session, in the first place, of the coast from latitude 39° 
20' N. to the straits of Fuca, and afterward, from the 
straits to the 59th parallel. This assumption of sover- 
eignty was totally inconsistent with the Nootka Sound 
Convention; and its absurdity was so manifest, that 
when Mexico extended her settlements into the territory 
on the south, and Russia on the north, England uttered 
not a word of complaint. 

While Vancouver Avas upon the coast, he encountered 
Captain Robert Gray, an American trader, on the 29th 
of April, 1T92, who informed him that he (Gray) had 
discovered the mouth of a large river, to which he had 
given the name of his vessel, the Columbia, but was 
unable to enter it. Vancouver disbelieved the account 
he heard, but Gray returned to the river a-nd succeeded 
in entering it. Subsequent to this, Vancouver obtained 
copies of Gray's charts, at Nootka Sound, by the aid of 
which he found the mouth of the Columbia, and sent 
Lieutenant Broughton to explore it, who went up to the 
rapids, about one hundred miles, in his cutter. 

There is one important fact connected with the dis- 
coveries .on the northwest coast of America, which shows 
the weakness of the claims of Gr^at Britain, and the 
efforts of her navigators to eke out their title by infer- 
ence and presumption. Wherever they found that a 
Spanish name had been given to a place, they were ex- 
tremely careful to substitute an English one, in accord- 
ance with the custom, says M. de Mofras, " of British 
navigators, who never fail to substitute English names for 



220 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845. 

those previously given by discoverers belonging to other 
nations."* Thus the name of New Albion was given 
to California ; and thus Cook changed Cape Blanco to 
Cape Gregory, and the port of San Lorenzo to King 
George's Sound, — and Vancouver, Cape Diligencias to 
Cape Oxford, and the Canal of Rosario to the Gulf of 
Georgia. 

But whatever rights England might have acquired in 
Oregon, under the Nootka Sound Convention, the war 
between her and Spain, in 1796, terminated that con- 
vention, and it was neVer again revived, as it could not 
have been without an express agreement entered into be- 
tween the original parties. By the additional articles to 
the treaty of Madrid, concluded in August, 1814, it was 
indeed provided, that, pending the negotiation of a new 
treaty of commerce. Great Britain should be admitted to 
trade with Spain upon the same conditions as those which 
existed previously to 1796, — all preexisting treaties of 
commerce being ratified and confirmed. The Nootka 
Convention, however, was not a commercial one ; it was 
simply a reciprocal agreement not to interfere in trading 
with the Indians for furs ; and it was not therefore re- 
vived. Furthermore, the stipulation in the additional 
articles had reference only to the direct trade with 
Spain ; for that government never conceded the privilege 
of trading with her dblonies, except in a single instance, 
w^hich was soon abrogated ; and this position is conclu- 
sively established by the fact, that in this very treaty of 
1814, Great Britam procured the insertion of a provision, 

* Exploration du Territoire de I'Oregon, des Californies, etc., torn, ii., p. 
138 



1845-6. J THE ENGLISH CLAIM. 221 

that if th'e colonial possessions of Spain were opened to 
foreign nations, she should be placed on a footing with 
the most favored countries. 

So weak was the title based upon the Nootka Conven- 
tion, that the British Commissioners in 1818 never even 
referred to it, or claimed any rights whatsoever under 
it ; yet, in 1826, the negotiators, Messrs. Huskisson and 
Addington, rested the English claim mainly upon this 
Convention, which had been terminated by the war of 
1796, and never revived. 

In addition to the discoveries 'alleged to have been 
made by sea, England based her title partly on those 
made overland. In 1793, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, 
being then in the employ of the North-west Company, 
discovered Frazer's river, and descended it for two Hun- 
dred and fifty miles ; he then struck off to the west, and 
reached the Pacific ocean in latitude 52^ 20'. But it 
must be remembered, that the Nootka Sound Convention 
was at this time in full force, and that Mackenzie was in 
the service of a fur company, and looking for favorable 
points at which to open a trade with the Indians, as 
English subjects were authorized to do by that Conven- 
tion. In 1806, Frazer, a partner of the North-west 
Company, established a trading post on a small lake, 
called Frazer's lake, near the 54th parallel ; but he 
never approached the branches of the Columbia river, 
and never saw it till after Astoria was established. 
Frazer's post was the first permanent establishment ever 
made by tho North-west Company, or by British sub- 
jects, west of the Rocky Mountains.* In 1811, a per- 
* Harmon's Journal of Voyages and Travels. 



222 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-6. 

son bj the name of Thompson, the astronomer of the 
North-west Company, in an unsuccessful attempt to an- 
ticipate Mr. Astor in establishing a post at the mouth of 
the Columbia, discovered the main northern branch of that 
stream, and erected some huts on its banks. Mr. Astor 
subsequently transferred his establishment to the North- 
west Company ; and the latter Avas afterward united 
with the Hudson's Bay Company. Tiil.s last company 
had tAvo establishments in Oregon — one at Vancouver, 
on the. Columbia river, and the otlier at Fort Nisqually, 
on Pugot's Sound — when the boundary question was de- 
termined. 

These discoverlesj treaties, and settlements, constitu- 
ted the basis and support of the English claim te Oregon. 
Contrasted with the Spanish discoveries, those made by 
the navigators of Great Britain appear paltry and incon- 
siderable in the extreme ; and in regard to the 'priority of 
the former, there cannot be a doubt. But one treaty 
ever existed, under which England could have derived 
any title ; this was the Nootka Sound Convention, whioli, 
after the war of 1796, had no force or effect. The only 
establishments or settlements made by British subjects, 
were so made, either under the Nootka Sound Convention, 
or by the North-west and Hudson's Bay Companies. The 
settlements made by those companies were never consid- 
ered as national possessions. On the contrary, the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, which succeeded to the rights of 
both, was not authorized by the act pf parliament under 
which its charter was granted,* nor by the charter itself, 
to make permanent settlements of a national character 

* 1 and 2 George IV., cap. 66. 



1845-6. J THE AMERICAN TITLE. 223 

to grant lands or to hold them ; but only to enjoy the 
rio-ht of trading with the Indians, to the exclusion of other 
British subjects.* If, therefore, Spain failed to support 
her rights acquired by prior discovery, by occupancy 
■within a reasonable time, England, on the other hand, did 
not secure " the real possession" soon after discovery, ne- 
co^sary to have her sovereignty acknowledged by the law 
of nations.! 

The American title was based on discovery, treaty, 
settlement, and conLuiuity. For several years prior to 
1792, Roberjt Gray, of Boston, the captain of a merchant 
vessel* sailing under the American flag, was employed in 
trading; with the Indians on the northwest coast of Ameri- 
ca. He landed and made discoveries and explorations at 
various points. In June, 1789, he explored the whole 
eastern coast of Queen Charlotte's Island. In the au- 
tumn of that year, Capt. John Kendrick, also an Ameri- 
can, sailed through the Straits of Fuca. Early in 1791, 
Gray returned to the northern Pacific in the ship Colum- 
bia, and in the course of the ensuing summer, he examin- 
ed many inlets and passages between 54'' and oQ° north 
latitude. In April, 1792, he satisfied, himself of the ex- 
istence of th.e great river to which he gave the name of 
his vessel. After his interview with Vancouver, he dis- 
covered Bullfinch's harbor, on the 7th of May, 1792 ; 
and on the 11th instant, he again saw the mighty Colum- 
bia rolling its broad flood of waters into the Pacific. 

He succeeded in entering the mouth of the river, and 
was the first white navigator that ever crossed the bar. 

* Hudson's Bay Company Charters— House of Commons, No. 547, 1842. 
t Vattel, Book i.. cap. 18. 



224 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-6. 

This he accomplished in safety, with the American flag 
flying at the mast-head of his vessel. He then sailed up 
the channel a distance of twenty-five miles, and remain- 
ed in the stream nine days engaged in trading with the 
Indians. Capt. Gray, it is true, did not command a na- 
tional vessel, but he carried the national flag ; and if his 
discoveries amounted to nothing more, they prevented 
other nations from acquiring any rights by subsequent 
discoveries. But an American merchantman, sailing un- 
der her proper flag, is regarded as a part and parcel of 
our soil ; an outrage committed on her, in Avhatsoever 
clime, is an outrage on the nation ; if she violates a trea- 
ty or convention with other countries, she is amenable to 
our laws ; and if she makes discoveries, why should they 
not enure to the benefit of the countrj^ that afibrds her 
protection, and to which she owes allegiance ? 

Upon the discoveries made by Gray, the American 
government founded their claim to Oregon ; and they in- 
sisted, more particularly, on their title to the territory 
drained by the Columbia, the existence of which he was 
the first positively to establish. This, territory extends 
from about the 42"^ to the 53° N. latitude. The right to 
a country thus drained by a river, on the discovery of its 
mouth, had been, previously claimed by England and 
France, on various occasions.* 

In 1803, the American claim was strengthened by the 
purchase of Louisiana from France. The boundaries of 
this purchase, so far as Spain was concerned, were some- 

* Charters of Elizabeth to Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1578, and to Sir 
Walter Raleigh in 1584 ; of James I. to Sir Thomas Gates, in 1606 and 
1607 ; Georgia Charter, 1732 ; and charter of Louis XIV. to Crozat, 1712. 



1845-6. J OVERLAND DISCOVERY, ETC. 225 

what indefinite ; but by the treaty of 1763, between Eng- 
land and France, under Avhich the former now holds her 
Canadian possessions, it \vas agreed that for the future, 
the confines between the British and French dominions 
in that part of the world, should " be fixed irrevocably 
by a line drawn along the middle of the river Mississippi, 
from its source to the river Iberville, and from thence by 
a line drawn along the middle of this river, and the lakes 
Maurepas and Pontchartrain, to the sea." By this trea- 
ty. Great Britain surrendered all claim and title to the 
territory lying between the Mississippi and the Pacific, 
and sotith of its source, or the 49th parallel ; and when 
the United States acquired the rights of FrancCj in 1803, 
they had a complete title by continuity, if not otherwise, 
as against any country except Spain, to that territory, — 
that is, as against England, they had a right to extend 
themselves to the Pacific ocean. This title by continui- 
ty was no mere assumption. It has repeatedly been as- 
serted on the discovery of new countries ; at the time of 
the colonization of North America, it was insisted that a 
settlement on the Atlantic coast gave a claim across the 
continent; and the enlarged charter of the first colony of 
Virginia granted the territory from sea to sea. 

Overland discoveries were also made by the American 
government. In 1804-5, Lewis and Clarke, under the 
orders of President Jeiferson, explored the Columbia river 
from its sources to its mouth, — thus strengthening the 
claim derived from the discovery of the river by Gray, 
and confirming the title by continuity. Previous to 1810, 
Mr. Henry, an agent of the Missouri Fur Company, 
established a trading post on the bank of Lewis river, 
9* 



226 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-6. 

but was compelled to abandon it, on account of the hos- 
tility of the Indians, and the want of provisions. In the 
month of March, 1811, Astoria was founded near the 
mouth of the Columbia, by John Jacob As tor, of New 
York, who built a small fort there for the protection of the 
settlement. Other trading posts for procuring furs were 
shortly after established along the banks of the river, for 
six hundred and fifty miles above its mouth. Fearing 
for the safety of the property of the American Fur Com- 
pany, on account of the war with Great Britain, and the 
encroachments of the North-west Company, Mr. Astor 
transferred it to the latter, by sale, on the 16th o^ Octo- 
ber, 1813. This transfer embraced private property 
only, and conveyed no title to land or jurisdiction. The 
American flag was kept flying on the fort till the 1st of 
December, 1813, when the place surrendered to a British 
sloop-of-war. The British standard was then hoisted ; 
and this was the first act of occupancy, by authority, on 
the part of Great Britain. The post, called by the Brit- 
ish Fort George, was. restored to the United States under 
the treaty of Client, when the English flag was struck, 
and the stars aiul stripes once more unfurled in its stead. 
This certainly was an exercise of sovereignty on the part 
of the American government, and an acknowledgment of 
it by England, ahhough it was afterward claimed by the 
latter, that she had only given up the possession, but had 
reserved the question of title. 

Astoria was subsequently abandoned by the Ameri- 
cans ; but a number of missionaiy and other settlements 
were made in Oregon at a later day, by American citi- 
zens, ai?si j^nder the auspices, and v.ith the consent, of 



1845-6. J TREATIES WITH RUSSIA. 22T 

their government ; and in the year 1845, there were from 
one thousand to fifteen hundred of that class of inhabit- 
ants residing in the territory, while of British subjects 
there were less than five hundred. 

Previous to this time, the American claim had been 
completed by the acquisition of all the rights of Spain 
above the 42d parallel, which were conveyed to the 
United States by the Florida treaty, in 1819. Thus 
had the latter inherited all the claims of France and 
Spain, and superadded them to her own. Conflicting as 
these different titles may appear, in some respects, a 
third party, like England, had no right to complain. If 
the American title, previous to 1819, was not good against 
the prior discoveries of Spain and her claim by contigu- 
ity, this gave England no right to dispute the titles when 
united.* 

While other nations were laying the foundation for 
future claims to sovereignty on the northwest coast of 
America, Russian navigators and traders had also made 
discoveries and settlements in northern Oregon. Colli- 
sions being likely to occur with Russia, an effort was 
made to conclude a joint convention with England and 
the United States. The effort failed, and each govern- 
ment treated separately. In 1824, the United States 
stipulated with Russia, that the latter should confine her 

* For the history of the Oregon question and negotiations, see Greenhow's 
flistory of Oregon and California, and Memoir on the Northwest Coast of 
North America ; Falconer on the Discovery of the Mississippi and on the 
Southwestern, Oregon, and Northern Boundary of the United States ; 
Dunn's History of the Oregon Territory ; Rush's Residence at the Court 
of London ; Doc. 199— 1st session 20th Congress ; and Documents accom- 
panying the President's annual message, December, 1845. 



228 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-6- 

settlemcnts to the north of 54° 40', and in 1825 England 
and Russia established the same boundary line between 
tlieir dominions. 

Various unsuccessful efforts were made by England 
and the United States, subsequent to the war of 1812, to 
(h'termine their respective rights in the Oregon territory. 
In 1818, the American government proposed to divide 
the country by the 49th parallel, and England aslced the 
Columbia river as the boundary west of the point at 
which the 49th parallel intersected that stream. As 
neither party was inclined to yield, a convention was en- 
tered into on the 20fch of October, 1818, by which-it was 
agreed that the whole country should " be free and open 
for the term of ten years " from the date thereof, " to 
the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of the two powers," 
without prejudice to the claim of either of the contracting 
parties.* In 1824, similar propositions for a settlement 
of the question by the partition of the territory were 
made, but again rejected. 

In 1826, Mr. Gallatin, the American minister at the 
Court of St. James, proposed a modification of the offer 
made in 1818, and repeated in 1824, — that the 49th 
parallel should be adopted as the boundary, subject to 
deviations according to the accidents of the country, and 
if that line crossed any navigable tributaries of the Co- 
lumbia, then the navigation of such tributaries, and of 
the main river, should be open to British subjects. 
Messrs. Huskisson and Adding-ton, the Eno-lish necrotiat- 
ors, adhered to the Columbia as the general boundary, 
but offered to the United States a detached peninsula, 

* Article 3rd. 



1845-6. J NEGOTIATIONS. 229 

bounded on the soutli by a line to be drawn from Hood's 
inlet, or canal, to Ballfincli's harbor, on the east bj the 
inlet, on the north by the Straits of Fuca, and on the 
west by the Pacific ocean, — thus giving up the southern 
coast of the straits and several of the best harbors with- 
in them ; and they proposed further, that a strip of land, 
along the northern bank of the Columbia, should remain 
neutral. Mr. Gallatin refused to make any greater con- 
cession than he had offered, and the negotiation terminated 
for the time in the convention of August Gth, 1827, by 
which the third article of the convention of 1818 Avas 
indefinitely extended, and continued in force, subject to 
the proviso, that either government might annul and ab- 
rogate the convention, at any time after the 20th of 
October, 1828, on giving due notice of twelve months to 
the other contracting party.* 

During tliese negotiations, and up to the. final arrange- 
ment, the British government, through her ministers and 
representatives, never claimed the exclusive sovereignty, 
but denied that it belonged to the United States, and in- 
sisted only on her right of joint occupancy and settlement, 
predicating it, after the attempt to negotiate in 1818, on 
the Nootka Sound Coavention. 

At the time of the negotiation of the treaty of Wash- 
ington, in 1842, the Oregon question was not considered 
or brought forward by Lord Ashburton, the representa- 
tive of Great Britain, lest it might impede the settlement 
of the northeastern boundary.f Meanwhile Oregon was 
being rapidly populated by American citizens, many of 

* Don. .199— 1st ses.s'()n, 20111 Congress. 

t Dispateh of Lord Abardean to Mr. Fox, October 18, 1842. 



230 JAMi^J KNOX POLK. [1845-6. 

tliem the friends and relatives of the inhabitants of the 
western states. In that section of the Union, therefore, 
loud and frequent complaints were heard at the neglect 
of the American negotiator, ]\Ir. Webster, to insist upon 
the settlement of both questions ; while at the north it 
was said, that he had been outwitted by Lord Ashburton, 
and had unnecessarily sacrificed a portion of the territory 
of Maine. The democratic party generally advocated 
giving the notice to Great Britain provided for by the 
Convention of 1827. In the 28 th Congress efforts were 
}Bade to procure the passage of a resolution requiring the 
notice to be given, but they failed of success. 

The Baltimore Convention, as has been seen, resolved 
that the American title to the whole of Oregon was 
" clear and unquestionable," and that its reoccupation 
was a measure eminently worthy of support. Mr. Polk 
was pledged to maintain this resolution ; but only so far 
as comported Avith the general sentiment of the nation, 
and as was required by a due regard for the preservation 
of the national honor and dignity. His individual opin- 
ions accorded with the resolution. In a speech deliver- 
ed in the House of Representatives on the 29 th of 
December, 1828, he defended the Arnerican claim to 
64^ 40' ; and in his letter accepting the Baltimore 
nomination, in his inaugural address, and in his first an- 
nual message, he asserted, in unequivocal terms, his firm 
conviction, that the title to Oregon was indisputable. In 
his opinion. Great Britain was precluded, by the treaty 
of 1763, from asserting a claim to any territory west of 
the Mississippi and south of the 49th parallel, if any slic 
had previously had ; and by the Spanish and American 



1845-6.] AMERICAN ULTIMATUM. 231 

discoveries, and the treaty of 1819, the American govern- 
ment had acquired a perfect and absolute right of sover- 
eignty over the whole territory as limited on the north by 
the convention "with Russia. 

But Avhen he assumed the administration of the govern- 
ment, he found that his predecessor, in deference to the 
expressions of the popular will, had opened a negotiation 
with the British government for -tKe adjustment of the 
Oregon question. This negotiation was commenced and 
conducted, as appears by. the first- protocol, dated on the 
23d of August, 1844, " with a view to establish a per- 
manent boundary between the two countries, westward of 
the Rocky Mountains, to the Pacific ocean."* The ne- 
gotiation thus opened by Mr. Calhoun, Secretary of State 
under Mr. Tyler, was continued on the part of tlie Ameri- 
can government by Mr. Buclianan. Had the question 
been a new one, Mr. Polk would have promptly insisted 
on the American title to the whole of Oregon, but as those 
who had preceded him in the executive chair had repeat- 
edly offered to compromise, and as the avowed object of 
this negotiation was to fix upon a boundary, he instruct- 
ed Mr. Buchanan to propose that the Oregon territory 
should be divided betAveen the two governments by the 
49th parallel, X)ffering at the same time to make free to 
Great Britain any port or ports on Vancouver's Island 
south of that parallel which she might desire. This was 
the ultimatum of the American government, and it was 
not intended to vary from it, except that slight deviations 
required by the geographical character of the country 
might be made. 

* Documents accompanying the President's Annual Message, Dec, 1S45. 



232 JAMES KNOX- POLK. [1845-6. 

Mr. Buclianan communicated the proposition directed 
to be made by the President, to Mr. Pakenham, the 
British negotiator, on the 12th of July, 1845. Without 
consulting his government, the latter rejected the propo- 
sition on the 29th instant, and offered to submit the ques- 
tion to arbitration. On the 30th of August, Mr. Bucha- 
nan replied to Mr. Pakenham, in a masterly communi- 
catio-n, conclusively establishing the American title to the 
territory, declining to arbitrate a question so clear, with- 
drawing the offer to compromise, and insisting on the 
claim to the parallel of 54° 40' . * 

Congress now assembled, and the President laid the 
Oregon correspondence before that body in connection 
with his annual message, with the recommendation that a 
resolution sliould be passed giving notice of the termina- 
tion of the joint occupation of the territory, at the expi- 
ration of one 3^ear, in accordance with the convention of 
1827. Resolutions were accordingly passed in both 
Houses directing the notice to be given, — in the House, 
by a vote of 163 to 54, the venerable John Quincy Adams 
heading the list of the majority ; and in the Senate, by a 
vote of 38 to 14. The House resolution directed the 
President to cause the notice to be given, but that of the 
Senate merely authorized him to give the notice, at his 
discretion. A disagreement thus existing, committees of 
conference were appointed, and the resolution of the Sen- 
ate, substantially, was finally adopted. The President 
promptly caused the notice to be given. 

From this time the question assumed a more serious 
aspect, and it appeared highly probable that a collision 

* Documents accompanying the President's iVnnual Message, Dec., 1S45. 



1845-6. J CONCLUSION OF THE TREATY. 233 

would take place between tlie two governments. The 
British muiistry, however, were assured by the tone and 
temper of the debates ill Congress, and bj advices from 
pi'ivate individuals, that the American people would pre- 
sent a miited front, if war should come, in defence of their 
claim to Oregon ; and that, if they desired to compromise 
the question, further propositions must come from them, 
and must be made without delay. Influenced by these 
considerations, on the 18th of May, 184G, Lord Aberdeen, 
the British Secretary for Foreign Aflairs, instructed Mr. 
Pahenham to propose, that the northern boundary line 
should be continued westward from the Rocky Mountains, 
along the 49th parallel to the channel separating the con- 
tinent from Vancouver's Island, and then through the 
middle of the channel, and of the straits of Fuca, to the 
Pacific ocean ; with the proviso that the navigation of the 
channel and straits, south of the 49th parallel, should re- 
main free and open to both parties ; and with the further 
stipulation, that the main northern branch of the Colum- 
bia, and the main river itself, should be free and open to 
the Hudson's Bay Company, and to all British subjects 
trading with them. This proposition was duly submitted 
to the American government on the 6th of June following. 
So thoroughly convinced was Mr. Polk, that the Amer- 
ican title to the whole of Oregon was " clear and unques- 
tionable," that if he alone had been responsible, he would 
have instantly declined to surrender any portion of the 
territory. But by former negotiations the government 
appeared to be committed to an equitable division, and 
a decided majority of Congress were avowedly favor- 
able to a compromise. There was, too, a new considera- 



234 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-6. 

tion connected with the question, — one of policy and ex- 
pediency, motives which always have, and which always 
should, with some limitations, control the action of na- 
tions and individuals. — Upper Oregon and the island of 
Vancouver were comparatively valueless, except for the 
excellent harbors within the straits of Fuca, which were 
the only safe and easily accessible ones in the whole ter- 
ritory. Those on the southern shore of the straits were, 
indeed, to belong to the United States under the British 
proposition ; but war now existed Avith Mexico, and as 
that country was largely indebted to American citizens, 
and was confessedly bankrupt, Mr. Polk, as a wise and 
sairacious statesman, could not but have foreseen that tlie 
contest would terminate in the acquisition, as a satisfac- 
tion for the American claims and the expenses of tho 
war, of a large portion of contiguous territory, in which 
was embraced the bay of San Francisco, the finest har- 
bor on the Pacific coast. 

Acting therefore in conformity to the example of 
Washington with respect to the Jay treaty, Mr. Polk 
submitted the proposition of Great Britain to the Senate, 
as being composed of his constitutional advisers in the 
conclusion of treaties with foreign powers. He stated, 
at the same time, that his individual opinion was in favor 
of supporting the American claim to the whole of Ore- 
gon ; and that if the Senate did not advise the acceptance 
of the proposition, by the constitutional majority required 
for the ratification of treaties, he should consider it his 
duty to reject the offer.* 

The Senate by a vote of 41 to 14, advised the accept- 

* Special Message and Accompanying Documents, June 10, 1S46. 



1845-6. J CONCLUSION OF THE TREATS. 235 

ance of the terms proposed by the British government, 
on the 12th of June, 1816, with the understanding, as 
officially stated by Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Pakenham, 
prior to the conclusion of the treaty, that the right of the 
Hudson's Bay Company to navigate the Columbia would 
expire with their license to trade on the northwest coast 
of America, on the 30th of May, 1859.* The treaty 
prepared in accordance with the proposition of Mr. Pak- 
enham, was then signed by him and Mr. Buchanan on 
the loth day of June, and duly ratified. 

Thus, by the firm determination of Mr. Polk, was 
this vexed question, which at one time threatened to in- 
terrupt the friendly relations subsisting between two 
nations united by the sympathies of a common Origin and 
a common tongue, forever settled in a spirit of amity and 
concord ; each party magnanimously surrendering a part 
of its pretensions,--the United States yielding the south- 
ern cape of Vancouver, and the territory above the 49th 
parallel, which she had repeatedly proposed to adopt as 
the boundary, and Great Britain giving up her claim to 
the jurisdiction and unoccupied territory between the 
49th parallel and the Columbia river. 

* Dispatch of Mr. BuchaDan to Mr. McLane, June 13, 1846, 



CHAPTER IX. 

Opposition of ^Mexico to the Annexation of Texas — The Question of Boun- 
dary — American troops ordered to Texas — Attempt to Negotiate — Re- 
fusal to receive a Minister — Advance of General Taylor to the Rio 
Grande — Commencement of Hostilities — Incidents of the war — Repeated 
eflforts to open negotiations— The Armistice— Treaty of Peace. 

The "joint resolution providing for tlie annexation of 
Texas to the United States," embraced two propositions, — 
the one providing for the immediate annexation, and the 
other, of an alternative cliaractcr, contemplating a new 
negotiation witli the republic of Texas, if the President 
deemed it the most advisable. 

RESOLUTION OF ANNEXATION. 

" Resolved hij the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of Avierica in Congress assembled, That 
Congress doth consent that the territory properly included 
within, and rightfully belonging to, the Republic of Texas, 
may be erected into a new State, to be called the State of 
Texas, with a republican form of government, to be adopted 
by the people of said Republic, by deputies in convention as- 
sembled, with the consent of the existing government, in 
order that the same may be admitted as one of the States of 
this Union. 

" 2. And he it further resolved, That the foregoing consent of 
Congress is given upon the following conditions, and with the 
following guaranties, to wit : First, said State to be formed 
subject to the adjustment by this government of all questions 



1845-8. J RESOLUTION OF ANNEXATION. 237 

of boundary that may arise with other governments ; and the 
constitution thereof, with the proper evidence of its adoption 
by the people of said Republic of Texas, shall be transmitted 
to the President of the United States, to be laid before Con- 
gress for its final action, on or before the first day of January, 
one thousand eight hvuidred and forty-six. Second, said 
State, when admitted into the Union, after ceding to the 
United States all public edifices, fortifications, barracks, ports 
and harbors, navy and navy yards, docks, magazines, arms, 
armaments, and all other property and means pertaining to 
the public defence, belonging to said Republic of Texas, shall 
retain all the public funds, debts, taxes, and dues of every 
kind, Avhich may belong to, or be due and owing said Repub- 
lic ; and shall also retain all the vacant and unappropriated 
lands lying within its limits, to be ap|)licd to the payment of 
the debts and liabilities of said Republic of Texas ; and the 
residue of said lands, after discharging said debts and liabifi- 
ties, to be disposed of as said State may direct ; but in no 
event are said debts and habilities to become a charge upon 
the Government of the United States. Third, new States of 
convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addition to 
said State of Texas, and having sufficient population, may 
hereafter, by the consent of said State, be formed out of the 
territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission iinder 
the provisions of the Federal Constitution. And such States 
as may be formed out of that portion of said territory lying 
south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, com- 
monly known as the Missouri compromise line, shall be .ad- 
mitted into the Union with or without slavery, as the people 
of each State asking admission may desire. And in such 
State or States as shall be formed out of said territory north 
of said Missouri compromise line, slavery or involuntary ser- 
vitude (except for crime) shall be prohibited. 

" 3. And he it further resolved, That if the President of 
the United States shall, in his judgment and discretion, deem 



238 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

it most advisable, instead of proceeding to submit the forego- 
ing resolution to the Republic of Texas as an overture on the 
part of the United States for admission, to negotiate with 
that Republic, then — 

" Be it Resolved, That a State, to be formed out of the* 
present Republic of Texas, with suitable extent and bound- 
aries, and with two representatives in Congress, until the 
next apportionment of representation, shall be admitted into 
the Union, by virtue of this act, on an equal footing with the 
existing States, as soon as the terms and conditions of 
such admission, and the cession of the remaining Texan ter- 
ritory to the United States, shall be agreed upon by the gov- 
ernments of Texas and the United States. 

" And he it further enacted, That the sum of one hundred 
thousand dollars be, and the same is, hereby appropriated to 
defray the expenses of missions and negotiations, to agree 
upon the terms of said admission and cession, either by treaty 
to be submitted to the Senate, or by articles to be submitted 
to the two Houses of Congress, as the President may direct." 

President Tyler elected to submit the first and second 
sections of the Resolution of Annexation to the authori- 
ties of Texas, which election was approved by his suc- 
cessor, and the annexation was completed in conformity 
thereto. The administration of Mr. Polk, therefore, suc- 
ceeded to all the liabilities and advantages incurred or 
secured by the accomplishment of this great measure. 

The central authorities of M-exico, though possessing 
no right to complain, by reason of the justifiable resist- 
ance of Texas when the federal league of 1824 was vio- 
lently ruptured, and of their inaction for so long a period, 
did not remain silent while the negotiations for the an- 
nexation of Texas were in progress, or the act itself be- 



1845-8.] RESOLUTION OF ANNEXATION. 239 

ing consummated. On tlie 23d day of August, 1843, 
Mr. de Bocanegra, the Mexican Minister of foreign re- 
lations, addressed a note to Mr. Thompson, the American 
Minister in Mexico, calling his attention officially to the 
agitation of the question in the United States, and an- 
nouncing that the Mexican government would consider 
equivalent to a declaration of war against the Mexican 
Republic, the passage of an act for the incorporation of 
Texas with the territory of the United States ; the cer- 
tainty of the fact being sufficient for the immediate proc- 
lamation of war ; leaving to the civilized world to de- 
termine with regard, to the justice of the cause of the 
Mexican nation, in a struggle which it \lva.d\ been so far 
from provoking. The tone of a portion of the note of 
Mr. de Bocanegra Avas so harsh and dictatorial, that it 
elicited a sharp reproof from Mr. Thompson. A second 
note was written by the former, in September, which was 
more subdued in its character, and assui'ed the American 
Envoy that Mexico did not threaten, still less provoke or 
excite ; but that she would " regard the annexation of 
Texas to the United States as a hostile act."* 

In November of tlie same year, a similar correspond- 
ence took place, at Washington, between General Al- 
monte, the Mexican Minister, and Mr. Upshur, the 
American Secretary of State ; the former protesting, in 
an official note written on the 3d instant, in the name of 
his government, against the annexation, and declaring 
that on sanction being given by the American Executive 
to the incorporation of Texas into the United States, he 

* House of R,eprescntalives, Exec. Doc, 2 — 1st Session 2Stli Congress, p. 
26, et seq. 



240 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

should consider his mission ended, and that the Mexican 
government was resolved to declare war so soon as it re- 
ceived information of such an act.* Two decrees were 
about the same time issued bj the Mexican govern- 
ment, — one of them excluding foreigners from the 
retail trade in Mexico, and the other closing the custom- 
houses in the northern departments. f The object of 
these decrees — if not avowed, at least not concealed — 
was to compel the American shopmen to leave the capital, 
and to cut off the valuable western trade with New Mex- 
co and Chihuahua. Mr. Thompson remonstrated against 
these decrees, but the Mexican authorities positively re- 
fused to repeal them. 

The treaty of annexation concluded by Mr. Calhoun 
was signed on the 12tu day of April, 1844. Immediate- 
ly upon tlu! conclusion of the treat}'-, Mr. Green, the 
American Charge. d\rj^uircs in Mexico, by tlie direction 
of the Secretary of State, assured the Mexican govern- 
ment, that it Avas the desire of tlie President of the United 
States to settle all questions between the two countries, 
that might grow out of the treaty, " or any other cause, 
on the most liberal and satisfactory terms, including that 
of boundary ;" and that the boundary of Texas had been 
purposely left without specification in tiie treaty, so that 
it migl^t be " an open question, to be fairly and fully disf- 
cussed an<l settled, according to the rights of each, and 
the mutual iutcrest and security of the two countries. | 



* Senate Doc. 341, 1st Session. 

t House of Representatives, Exec. Doc. 2 - 1st session 2Stli Congress, 
p. 31, et scq. 
X Senate Doe. S4I— 1st session 2Sth Congress, [). 53. 



1845-8. J COURSE OF MEXICO. 241 

Mr. Thompson having returned home, a new Envoy 
was subsequently sent to Mexico, with full and adequate 
powers to enter upon the negotiation. He, also, was in- 
structed by Mr. Calhoun, on the 10th of September, 
1844, " to renew the declaration made to the Mexican 
Secretary by our charge d'affaires, in announcing the 
conclusion of the treaty, that the measure was adopted in 
no spirit of hostility to Mexico, and that, if annexation 
should be consummated, the United States [would] be 
prepared to adjust all questions growing out of it, includ- 
ing that of boundary, on the most liberal terms."* 

When it became known in-Mexico that the treaty had 
been signed, Mr. de Bocanegra addressed a circular let- 
ter to the foreign ministers resident in Mexico, dated the 
31st of May, 1844, in which he pronounced the treaty of 
annexation, absolutely, " a declaration of war between 
the two nations." In reply to the assurances of Mr. 
Green, the Mexican minister repeated his declaration that 
Mexico would consider the ratification of the treaty as a 
positive act of war.f The authorities of Mexico were 
doubtless emboldened to assume this warlike and offensive 
tone, by the powerful opposition offered to the annexation 
of Texas in the United States, and they claimed great 
merit among their people for their bold resistance of what 
they termed the aggressions of the American govern- 
ment. 

Santa Anna, the President of Mexico, took the same 
ground with Mr. de Bocanegra, in a public announce- 

* House of Representatives, Exec. Doc— 2d session 2Stli Congress— p. 
21, et seq. 
t Ibid., p. 52, et seq. 
11 



242 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

ment made on the 12tli of June, 1844, and declared it to 
be the firm determmation of Mexico to re-conquer Texas. 
This announcement was followed bj a requisition for 
thirty thousand men, and four millions of dollars, to car- 
ry on the war, which, it was threatened, would be one of 
extermination. Generals Canalizo and Woll were order- 
ed to the north with an armed force, but accomplished 
nothing in the way of subjugation. When the annexa- 
tion resolutions were passed. General Almonte protested 
against them in his official capacity as the accredited 
minister of his government, on the 6th of March, 1845, 
and demanded his passports. These Avere delivered to 
him by Mr. Buchanan, Avho assured him that the govern- 
ment of the United States was favorably disposed toward 
Mexico, and was desirous of treating with it in an ami- 
cable and friendly spirit, for the adjustment and final 
settlement of all questions in difference between the two 
countries, including the boundary of Texas. . These pa- 
cific overtures were not regarded, and on the 2d day of 
April the American Minister in Mexico was refused all 
intercourse Auith that government, upon the ground, as 
stated by the Mexican minister of foreign relations, that 
the government of Mexico could " not continue diplomatic 
relations Avith the United States, upon the presumption 
that such relations [Avercj reconcilable Avith the laAV " of 
uniicxation. President Herrera, the successor of Santa 
Anna, also issued a proclamation, on the 4th of June, 
1845, declaring that the annexation in noAvise destroyed 
the rights of IMexico, and that she Avould maintain them 
by force of arras. . Two decrees of the Mexican Congress 
were affixed to this proclamation, providing for calling 



1845-8. j AMERICAN CLAIMS. 243 

out all the armed forces of the nation ; and on the 12th 
day of July orders were given to the army of the north, 
then cantoned at San Luis Potosi, to prepare to take the 
field. Similar orders were issued by General Arista, the 
commanding oflBcer on the northern frontier, on the 12th 
day of Septembet, 1845. 

• Mexico, however, was without the means to sustain any 
considerable body of troops in active service. Torn and 
distracted by intestine divisions, — ^her statesmen and pol- 
iticians directing their whole energies to the advance- 
ment of private or factious interests, — she presented a 
continued scene of turbulence, the waves of popular anar- 
chy sometimes rolling with the fury and madness of the 
tempest, but never, like the after-tossing of the ocean, 
subsiding to the happy calm in unison with her repub- 
lican institutions. 

There were other causes calculated to heighten the im- 
bittered feelings cherished by Mexico. The American 
people had gladly aided her in achieving her independ- 
ence, and she was angry that she had received favors 
which had been repaid with ingratitude and inssults. 
During the protracted warfare, too, between Spain and 
Mexico, and the internal commotions which had distui'bed 
the tranquillity of the latter, vessels sailing under the 
American flag were plundered, and the property of Amer- 
ican merchants confiscated, by Mexican authorities. The 
government of the United States remonstrated against 
these wanton and illegal seizures and confiscations. 
Mexico was liberal of her promises of redress, but she 
postponed or evaded their fulfilment. Negotiations were 
opened, but they were characterized on her part by bad 



244 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

faith, prevarication, and delay. She entered into trea- 
ties without intending to regard them, and therefore vio- 
lated them without compunction. 

At length, commissioners were appointed by the two 
governments respectively, for the adjustment of the 
claims of American citizens. They met in 1840, and had 
. adiuitted claims to the amount of over two millions of 
dollars, in the month of February, 1842, when the com- 
mission expired, — leaving claims to the amount of about 
four millions of dollars undecided. The sum acknowl- 
edged and awarded to the American claimants, was ad- 
mitted to' be due by Mexico, and at her. request, and for 
her accommodation, the payment thereof was postponed, 
and divided into twenty instalments, three of which, with 
tlie interest due on the 30th of April, 1889, were paid, 
but the remaining instalments, commencing with that pay- 
able in April, 1844, were still due by Mexico when she 
suspended diplomatic inteixourse with the United States. 
Similar acts of perfidy on the part of the Mexican gov- 
ernment, had provoked a merited chastisement from 
France, in 1839 ; but the United States, in a spirit of 
matrnanimity, of long-suffering and forbearance, rarely 
witnessed among nations, continued to hope that better 
counsels would prevail in Mexico, and prompt her rulers 
to the performance of their duty. Had the circumstances 
attending the annexation of Texas, then, been far more 
aggravated than was alleged by Mexico, reproaches would 
have ill become her, and complaints appeared like adding 
insult to hijury. 

But, though the threats of Mexico were as empty as 
her promises and professions were hollow, and though her 



1845-8.J BOUNDARY OF TEXAS. 245 

valiant proclamations and decrees were entirely unpro- 
ductive of results, she did not recede from her position, 
that the annexation of Texas was tantamount to a decla- 
ration of war. To that she was committed bj every act 
of her executive authorities which could give it force or 
solema-ty. They had deliberately placed themselves 
upon rrcovd, and published to the world the ground they 
had taken. 

Diplomatic intercourse being suspended, and a state of 
war declared to exist, no alternative was left to the United 
States but that of extending their authority over Texas, 
Avithout further reference to Mexico. In doing this, it 
was evident that a question might arise as to how far the 
western and southwestern boundary of the newly acquired 
territory extended. Had not the authorities of Mexico 
flattered themselves into the belief, that the insolence and 
bravado which they had so long displayed with impunity 
toward the American Republic, would continue to be un- 
resented, tliis question might, and would have been, ami- 
cably settled ; for by the resolution of Congress, no 
territory was annexed except that rightfully belonging to 
Texas, and all questions of boundary that might arise with 
other governments were left subject to adjustment by the 
federal government of the United States. But by the 
act of Mexico, her diplomatic relations with us were in- 
terrupted, and no other course was left to our govern- 
ment, but that of deciding the question of boundary for 
themselves, and acting upon that decision until Mexico 
was disposed to negotiate. Had any other course been 
a,dopted, — had the government of the United States cow- 
ered before the loud-sounding proclamations fulminated 



246 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

hj the Mexican Executive, — lier representatives would 
have been scorned at everj court in the civilized world. 
True, actual war, instead of that nominally existing as 
Mexico declared, was likely to ensue ; but war is always 
to be preferred to a dishonorable peace ; and a war in 
support and vindication of national honor, wherever the 
arms of the injured country may be carried, is a war of 
defence. 

Previous to her secession from the Mexican confed- 
eracy, the political limits of Texas "were the Nueces 
river on the west ; along the Red river on the north ; tlie 
Sabine on the east ; and the Gulf of Mexico on the 
south."* But it is unnecessary to inquire what were 
the boundaries of Texas, prior to that event, because it 
is a familiar principle of national law, that boundaries 
are always obliterated by a revolution, as they are by a 
war between two contiguous countries. Just so far as 
Texas extended her power and authority during the revo- 
lutionary struggle, her title was good against every other 
government except Mexico ; and against the latter also, 
if the secession, as has been contended, was justifiable, 
and if the extension of authority consisted of positive 
acts, or was acknowledged by Mexico. In determining 
the question of boundary, therefore, the government of 
the United States had only to ascertain how far, if at all, 
Texas had extended her limits by conquest or occupation, 
or by the assent, express or implied, of the constituted 
-authorities of Mexico. 

At an early period of her contest with the central gov- 

* Letter of H. M. Morfit, House of E-epresentatives, Doe. 35, 2d Sessioa 
24th Congress. 



1845-8.] ACT OF THE TEXAN CONGRESS. 24T 

ernment of Mexico, Texas " made her mark," as was 
said bj one of her Senators in the American Congress,* 
and asserted her claim to the whole territory lying on the 
left bank of the Rio Grande, or Rio Bravo del Norte. 
The advantages ojffered by that "grand and solitary river" 
as a great natural military barrier or obstacle, were so 
apparent to the Texan officers, that at the capitulation of 
General Cos, in December, 1835, it was stipulated in the 
articles of surrender, signed by the commissioners appoint- 
ed by Generals Burleson and Cos, and approved by them, 
that the latter should retire beyond the Rio Grande, and 
provisions were furnished to the Mexican army to sustain 
them till they reached that river, as if it were the proper 
frontier of their own country.! 

In April, 1836, the last decisive' encounter took place 
at San Jacinto. The Mexican army was almost annihi- 
lated, and -their commander Santa Anna, with eio-ht hun- 
dred of his troops, were m:i<le prisoner.^. The whole 
invading army was then in the power of the Texans ; and 
in order to save them from destruction and to regain his 
own liberty, Santa Anna, in his cLjiracter as President 
of the Mexican Republic and clothed v/ith the suprem.e 
power, entered into an agreement and solemn, cempact 
Arith President Burnet, of Texas, and his cabinet, by 
which the independence of Texas Avas acknowledged ; 
and it was also stipulated tlierein, that the Mexican 
troops should evacuate the territory of Texas and retire 
beyond the Rio Grande, and that rive/, from its mouth 

* Hon. T. J. Rusk. 

t Articles of Capitulation signed at Sau Antonio de Bexar, December 11, 
1835. 



248 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

to the 42d degree of north latitude, should forever be the 
line of demarcation between the two countries.* A copy 
of this agreement was forwarded to General Filisola, 
then at the head of about five thousand troops, the re- 
mains of the shattered army, gf invasion. He was from 
forty to fifty miles distant, but completely at the mercy 
of the Texan forces, now flushed with conquest and con- 
fident in their ability to achieve other victories. The 
compact was therefore approved' by General Filisola, and 
its propriety and validity ever defended by him.f He 
was now permitted to retire beyond the Rio Grande 
without molestation, and thus saved his army from de- 
struction. 

This agreement was likewise approved by otlior Mexi- 
can general officers, and by the secretary of war, though 
not ratified by their Congress. It was said, that Santa 
Anna was a prisoner of war when the treaty or. conven- 
tion Avas concluded, and that no ;!grccment entered into 
by him under duress, was oblig-.tory upon his govern- 
ment. But Mexico had profited by the act, in the res- 
cue of her army from disaster and disgrace ; she had 
reaped the benefit of the compact, and good faith re- 
quired that she should ratify it. 

Texas, however, decided firmly to adhere to the Rio 
Grande as the bomi<ln- •, and on the 19th of December, 
1836, an act was passed by her Congress, establishing 
that river, from its mouth up its principal stream to its 
source, as such boundary. From the source of the river, 
the Hne on the north and east was declared to be " as 

* Articles ], -1, "). -f See Defence of General Filisola.June 10, lS3(i. 



1845-8.] CLAIM TO PART OF NEW MEXICO. 249 

defined between the United States and Spain."* In 
compliance with a call of the Senate, pending the discus- 
sion on the treaty of 1844, President Tyler sent in a 
map of the country proposed to be ceded, upon which 
the boundaries, as above described, were marked in red 
lines. The act of the Texan Congress was unrepealed, 
at the time of her final admission by a law of the United 
States, passed the 29th day of December, 1845 ; the new 
constitution adopted, impaired its validity in no respect, 
as it expressly provided for continuing all prior enact- 
ments in full force ; and on the 31st day of December, 
two days after slie was admitted as a state, the Congress 
of the United States passed a law establishing " a collec- 
tion district in the State of Texas," and Corpus Christi, 
west of the Nueces, was made a port of delivery, for 
Y/liich a surveyor was afterwards appointed. Thus the 
boundaries claimed by Texas were approved and adopted 
by the government of the United States. 

The claim of Texas to that portion of New Mexico 
lying east of the Rio Grande was somewhat doubtful, 
except the treaty with Santa Anna be considered valid. 
Slie had exercised no acts of sovereignty there, and the 
only expedition sent to assert her authority was unsuc- 
cessful. She did not reduce the territory to her posses- 
sion and occupancy, but she at all times asserted a right, 
which, said Mr. Polk, " is .believed, under the acts of 
Congress for the annexation and admission of Texas into 
the Union as a state, and under the constitution and laws 

* This act followed Very nearly the language of the treaty with. Santa 
Anna, and the boundaries corresponded precisely, with those fixed in that 
fomimct. , • ■ 

11* 



250 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

of Texas, to be well founded ;"* and when the claim of 
Mexico was extinguished by the treaty of Guadalupe 
Hidalgo, the previous inchoate right of Texas became 
perfect and complete. 

To the country between the Nueces and the lower Rio 
Grande, the claim of Texas, and subsequently of the 
United States, was as good as to any portion of the terri- 
tory between the Nueces and the Sabine ; and its occu- 
pancy by the American troops, as distinguished from the 
other part of Texas, was never complained of by the 
Mexican government, nor do they appear to have been 
aware how deeply they were wronged in this respect, 
until the question was raised in the United States by the 
political opponents of Mr. Polk. 

The intention to insist upon the Rio Grande as the 
western boundary of Texas was clearly intimated in tlic 
articles of capitulation approved by General Cos, and 
asserted in the treaty with Santa Anna, which, if pos- 
sessing no greater force, operated as a notice to Mexico 
of the extent to which Texas was determined to claim. 
After it became known that Mexico would not ratify the 
convention concluded with Santa Anna and approved by 
the other Mexican officers, and that Urrea was preparing 
to invade Texas, General Rusk, then at ike head of the 
Texan army, ordered General Felix Huston to take po- 
sition, with a detachment, at Corpus Christi ; and the 
latter sent his scouting parties to the Rio Grande. At 
that time there were no permanent settlements on the left 
bank of the river, with the exception of a few ranchos 
opposite Mier, Camargo, Reinosa, and Matamoras, the 

* Special Message of President Polk, July 24, 1S48. 



1845-8. J EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY BY TEXAS. 251 

occupants of y/liich had been engaged in herding and 
smuggling, but took refuge on the west side of the Rio 
Grande, upon the approach of Huston's troops. The 
great majority of the inhabitants retired to the rear of 
Rusk's army, in compliance with his orders. Urrea 
crossed the river but once, and soon returned. Although 
he had 10,000 men at Matamoras, General Huston held 
in subjection the whole country to the Rio Grande, and 
his advanced corps ti'aversed it at pleasure. 

In December, 1836, when the law prescribing the 
boundaries of Texas was passed, she was in possession of 
the disputed territory, and her civil and political juris- 
diction Ivas extended over it. Custom-houses, post- 
offices and post- roads, and election precincts, were estab- 
lished west of the Nueces. The county of San Patricio 
vras laid out reaching to the Rio Grande. The public 
lands between the two rivers were surveyed and sold, and 
all the evidences of grants and transfers of land, subse- 
quent to the revolution of 1834, were entered among the 
records of Texas. Persons holding colony contracts 
made by the department of Tamaulipas, which was 
bounded on the east by the Nueces, prior to the revolu- 
tion, voted at Corpus Christi, under the laws of Texas. 
The place of voting was near the Nueces, more than one 
hundred and fifty miles from the Rio Grande ; but in the 
western and southwestern ^states of the American Union, 
county towns have frequently been situated over one 
hundred miles distant from the remotest limits of the 
county. 

Members of the Texan Congress were elected, who re- 
sided on the right bank of the Nueces, several years pre- 



252 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

vious to the annexation ; and that part of Texas was rep- 
resented, too, in the Congress and in the Convention by 
which the resolution of annexation was accepted. The 
collectoral district of Aransas was established by the first 
Congress of Texas, and extended from the mouth of the 
San Antonio to the Rio Grande. Boats were repeatedly 
sent out by the collector to watch the coast, and recon- 
noitre the Laguna Madre and the Brazos. In the fall of 
1838, when their ports were blockaded by the French 
fleet, the Mexicans secretly landed a cargo of flour at a 
place about ten miles west of the present town of Corpus 
Christi, for the purpose of conveying it across the coun- 
try. The flour was destroyed, and the vessel seifed, un- 
der the orders of the collector of the district, for violating 
the revenue laws of Texas. 

The Texan troops being in great part withdrawn, in 
the spring of 1837, as no apprehensions of danger wei'e 
then entertained, the Mexican rancheros ventured across 
, the Rio Grande to herd their cattle; but they were. im- 
mediately attacked by the Texan " cow-boys,'' as they 
were termed, and compelled to cross over to the right 
bank. Repeated eflForts were made by the rancheros to 
establish themselves permanently, but the " cow-boys,'' 
though not acting under any positive orders of the Texan 
government, resisted every attempt, and during the de- 
sultory contests which took place, from 1837 to 1842, 
drove off nearly 80,000 head of cattle. The Mexican 
authorities uniformly discountenanced the establishment 
of any permanent settlements north of the river, and the 
civil jurisdiction of the department of Tamaulipas was 
exerted but rarely, if at all, in that part of its ancient 



1845-8.J LAREDO. 253 

dominions. After the defeat of the federalistas, who re- 
volted against the central government of Mexico in 1839, 
Generals Anaya and Can ales, two of their leaders, 
crossed over the Rio Grande for protection. The latter 
united his forces with those of Captain Ross, of the Texan 
rangers, and a number of " cow-boys." They then 
crossed the river, and drove the Mexican army into 
Matamoras. Canales took shelter in Texas again, in 
1840, when he was joined by Colonel Jordan, with near 
two hundred " cow-boys." They crossed the Rio 
Grande a second time, and penetrated as far into the 
country as Saltillo, where Canales betrayed his allies, 
who succeeded, however, in fighting their Avay back to the 
river. 

After the invasion and defeat of Woll in 1842, the 
Texan army drove him across the Rio Grande and took 
possession of Laredo, At this point there had been a 
military organization, previous to the revolution in Texas, 
which was in existence when the army of the United 
States marched to the Rio Grande. On account of their 
liability to be attacked by the Indians in their vicinity, 
the inhabitants of Laredo were excepted from the opera- 
tion of the act disarming the citizens of Coahuila and 
Texas ; but they claimed to belong to the latter whenever 
they were visited by Hays and McCulloch's rangers, who 
frequently crossed over the country from San Antonio, to 
that and other points on the river ; and in a prochiiiia- 
tiou issued in 1846, Canales called tlicm Texans. They 
were probably of Mexican extraction ; but the authority 
which Mexico exercised over them was far more ques- 
tionable than that of Texas. 



254 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

Besides the settlement at Laredo, there were a few 
straggling huts at Point Isabel, near the Brazos Santiago, 
occupied by Mexican fishermen and smugglers. During 
the war with France, goods imported by the merchant.'^ 
of Matamoras were often landed by stealth at the Brazos, 
in order to escape the notice of the French blockading 
fleet lying off the mouth of the Rio Grande. An agent 
of the custom-house, which was on the right bank of the 
Rio Grande and in the Mexican territory, was sent to re- 
side at Point Isabel, to collect t^e duties before the goods 
were taken over the river, and a revenue officer of a simi- 
lar character was continued there until the approach of 
General Taylor with his arm^^, in the spring of 184G, 
when he voluntarily retired across the river, having never 
been in the least degree molested, by the American 
troops, in the exercise of his autliority, whatsoever la- 
might rightfully have possessed. 

By the boundary act of the Texan Congress, no title 
was acquired to the. disputed territory, except as it was 
followed and supported by the civil and military author- 
ity which she exercised. She did not fortify the whole 
left bank of the Rio Grande, nor plant her flag at ever}- 
prominent point on the Gulf of Mexico ; but her ability 
to drive the Mexicans from the territory, at pleasure, to 
their place of' security beyond the river, was demon- 
strated ; and if private individuals at any time returned 
there and established themselves, it would seem to have 
been done merely by her sufferance. The authority ex- 
ercised by Texas, in the valley of the Nueces, and upon 
its western bank, including the settlement at Corpus 
Christi, was undoubted and undeniable. In the other 



1845-8. j ADMISSIONS OF MEXICO. 255 

poji't of the territory in dispute, there could not have 
been one hundred persons as late as 1844, and it cannot 
be said Avith justice, that the Mexicans then had any " ac- 
tual possession or fixed habitation east of the Rio del 
Norte," between the Gulf of Mexico and the " riiountain- 
ous barriers at the Pass,"* with the exception of what 
tiiey might claim at Laredo and Brazos Santiago. Mr. 
Donelson, tae American chargi d'' affaires^ called the at- 
tention of the government of the United States, and of 
General Taylor, to tie existence of these settlements, or 
posts, in the spring of 1845. t The latter Avas expressly 
instructed, when he entered the territory, not to interfere 
with the establishments made by Mexico, and to respect 
the rights and property of private citizens ; and it is un- 
necessary to say, that his orders were faithfully ob- 
served. 

But, in addition to these facts, Mexico herself, through 
her agents and officers, tacitly admitted the claim of 
Texas to the lower Rio Grande, on several occasions ; 
although, as a general thing, she made no distinction in 
regard to any part of the country between that river and 
the Sabine. Her claim extended to the whole of Texas, 
and the comparatively unimportant question of boundary 
was merged in the greater one of title. Always insisting 
upon her right to every part and parcel of Texas, when- 
ever, subsequent to the battle of San Jacinto, she adopt- 
ed, either voluntarily or by compulsion, a limit to the 

* ]\lemoir of Lieut. Emory : Senate Doc. 341— 1st session, 2Sth Congress 
-p. 56. 

t Letters to Mr. Buchanan, June 30th, and July 11 ;— to General Taylor, 
June 28th, and July 7. 



256 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

territory, all of which she regarded as having been forci- 
bly and unjustly Avrested from her, that limit was the 
Rio Grande. The soutliern and western bank of the 
river formed the outer limit of her military posts and 
fortifications. When her armies crossed it in force, 
the preparations made, the dispositions for the march, 
and the orders of the officers, showed that the movement 
was considered one of invasion ; and when compelled to 
retreat, they retired behind it as to a place of refuge. 

An armistice was proposed in 1843, in which it was 
stipulated that the Mexicans should confine themselves 
to the right bank of the river, and that the Texans should 
remain on the left bank. Tornel, the minister of war, in 
his letter dated July 7th, instructed General Woll, the 
commander-in-chief of the army of the north, that hos- 
tilities against Texas were " to be immediately suspend- 
ed at all points of the line under [his] command," and 
that he must withdraw to it his advanced parties.* The 
line commanded by General Woll was the Rio Grande ; 
and in his proclamation declaring the armistice at an 
end, he gave notice that every individual found one 
league from the river, on the east, would be looked 
upon as favoring " the usurpers of that territory," and 
be brought to trial before a court-martial, to be severely 
punished, if found guilty. Here, it seems, the Mexican 
general treated the question as one of usurpation, and 
admitted that the territory usurped extended to the Rio 
Grande. Canales, also, issued a pronunciamento against 
the government of Paredes, at Caraargo, in February, 

* Senate Doc. 341— 1st session, 28th Congress— p. 84. 



1845-8. J AMERICAN ADVANCE UNOPPOSED. 25T 

1846, in which he described himself as being " on the 
northern frontier."* It is verj questionable whether he 
would have used this expression, if, in his opinion, the 
actual frontier was the Nueces, from 150 to 200 miles 
further north. 

The intention of General Taylor to advance to the Rio 
Grande was known long before his armj commenced its 
march ; reconnoissances of the different routes by land 
and water, of Padre Island, the Laguna Madre, and the 
Brazos, were made early in February, 1846 ; and the 
fact that a forward movement was in contemplation, had 
been communicated by the Mexican officers on the fron- 
tier to their government. Notwithstanding this, no prep- 
arations were made to resist the approach of the Ameri- 
can general, and he was induced, from the entire absence 
of such preparations, to believe that he would encounter 
no opposition. t The situation of the country afforded 
numerous opportunities for harassing the American 
troops on their march, and the passage of the Arroyo 
Colorado, if disputed, would have been attended Avith 
great loss. " This stream," says General Taylor, " is 
a salt river, or rather lagoon, nearly one hundred yards 
broad, and so deep as barely to be fordable. It would 
have formed a serious obstruction to our march, had the 
enemy chosen to occupy its right bank, even with a small 
force."! 



* House of Representatives, Exec. Doc. 196— 1st session, 29tli Connress— 
p. 106. 

1 Letters to the Adjutant General, October Sth, 1845, and February 4th 
and 16tb, 1S16. • 

t Letter to the Adjutant General, March 21. 1846. 



258 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

The Mexican Minister, Pena y Pena, in a confidential 
interview with Mr. Black, as will be seen, and in an of- 
ficial note to that gentleman, insisted on the withdrawal 
of the American naval force off Vera Cruz, previous to 
the reception of a minister, in order that his government 
might not even appear to act under an implied men- 
ace. General Taylor was then known to be at Cor- 
pus Chris ti, and in the actual occupancy of territory ly- 
ing west of the Nueces ; but this was not made the sub- 
ject of complaint, nor even thought worthy of mention. 
At no time did the government of Herrera pretend that 
the occupation of the disputed territory was one of the 
reasons for refusing to receive Mr. Slidell : neTther did 
Castillo y Lanzas, the minister of Paredes, in his note 
communicating the final determination of the Mexican 
government, allege that the occupation, or the contem- 
plated advance to the Rio Grande, was the cause of the 
refusal.* Paredes once issued orders to attack the 
American army early in March, when the intentions of 
General Taylor were unknown ; and near the close of the 
month, when it was understood in Mexico, that he de- 
signed to advance, Paredes issued a manifesto, declaring 
that the Mexican government would itself commit no 
act of aggression ; thus acknowledging that the United 
States had committed no new act of that character, other- 
wise it would certainly have been mentioned. 

Mexico undoubtedly considered every movement for 
the establishment of the authority of the United States as 
an act of hostility ; and in his proclamation of the 23rd 

' * See Diplomatic Correspondence, House of Representatives, Exec. Doc, 
19()— 1st session, 29th Congress. 



1845-8. J MEXICAN COMMISSIONS. 259 

of April, 1846, declaring that the war had been com- 
menced, Paredes referred to the occupation of Corpus 
Christi, the appearance of the naval squadrons in the Pa- 
cific and the Gulf of Mexico, the advance to the Rio 
Grande, and the blockade of the river, each and all, as 
so many aggravations of the original cause of offence — 
the annexation of Texas. That act was the principal 
grievance, and the others but so many incidents. This 
idea also appears to have been entertained by the Mexi- 
can commissioners, Herrera, Conto, Villamil, and Atris- 
tain, who stated expressly, in their letter to Mr. Trist, on 
the 6th of September, 1847, that the war was " under- 
taken solely on account of the territory of the State of 
Texas."* 

In an interview with a staff officer belongino; to the ar- 
my of General Taylor, shortly after the battle of Buena 
Vista, Santa Anna, better disposed to keep faith in this 
respect than his countrymen, intimated that the Rio 
Grande was the proper boundary of Texas, and declared 
that Mexico could say nothing of peace, Avhile the Amer- 
icans remained on that side of the river. f 

But there is another fact having reference to this ques- 
tion, which must be regarded as conclusive. After the 
treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, by which the war with 
Mexico was terminated, was concluded, the Mexican 
commissioners addressed a communication to their gov- 
ernment, in which they say that " the intention of mak- 
ing the Bravo a limit has been announced by the clearest 
signs for the last twelve years ; and it would have been 

* Senate Exec. Doc. 20. — 1st session, 30th Congress— p. 19. 
t OflBcial Dispatch.of Santa Anna, February 27, 1847. 



2Q0 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

impossible, at the present day, to change it. After the 
defeat of San Jacinto, in April, 183G, that was the terri- 
tory which we stipulated to evacuate, and which we ac- 
cordingly did evacuate, by falling back on Matamo- 
ra-. lu this place was afterwards stationed what was 
calif d the Army of the North ; and though it is true 
that expeditions and incursions have been made there, 
even as far as Bexar, we have very soon retreated, 
leaving the intermediate space absolutely free. In 
this state General Taylor found it when, in the early 
part of last year, he entered there by order of his gov- 
ernment." With these opinions deliberately expressed 
by some of the highest functionaries of Mexico, what 
need is there of pursuing the argument in support 
of the claim of Texas to tlie Rio Grande as her south- 
western boundary ? 

Opposed to these admissions, direct or implied, of the 
Mexican authorities, are the proclamations and dis- 
patches issued by Mejia, Ampudia, and Arista, on the 
approach of General Taylor. All three of these gen- 
erals declared that the advance of his army was a hostile 
movement ; yet they appeared to differ with respect to 
the proper point to which the invading forces, as they 
were called, should be allowed to extend their occupa- 
tion. Mejia announced, through his representative, that 
the passage of the Arroyo Colorado Avould be regarded 
as an act of war ; Ampudia desired General Taylor to 
retire beyond the Nueces ; and Arista insisted, that the 
law annexing Texas gave no right to occupy the Rio del 
Norte, without attempting to confine the American arm 7 



1845-8. AMERICAN TROOPS ORDERED TO TEXAS. 2'^'' 

to any precise limits.* The prefect of the northern dis- 
trict of Tamaulipas, Jenes Cardenas, also issued his pro- 
test, dated at Santa Rita, on the 23d of March, 1846, 
against the occupation of sluj portion of the department ; 
but it must be remembered that the head-quarters of his 
prefecture were at Matamoras, and it is doubtful whether 
he ever exercised authority north of the Rio Grande. 
Besides, General Taylor very properly regarded him as 
a mere tool of the military authorities in Matamoras, and 
after the capture of that city he proved himself to be as 
corrupt as he was pusillanimous, by soliciting, in the 
humblest terms, to be continued in his office. 

In view of the focts which have been detailed, it will 
not appear strange, that tlie government of the United 
States adopted the Rio Grande as the boundary of Texas, 
or that the civil and military officers of Mexico, in Qvery 
department of the government, repeatedly admitted that 
the tract between that river and the Nueces formed part 
of the territory usurped, as was said, by the Texans. 

Having decided the question of boundary, the offensive 
attitude of Mexico required, in the opinion of Mr. Polk 
and his cabinet, that the territory should be occupied by 
American troops ; the occupation being limited, in the 
first place, to such points as had long been under the ac- 
knowledged jurisdiction of the laws of Texas. Had 
friendly relations existed with Mexico, she might justly 
have complained of the occupation unless ev^ry effi3rt at 
negotiation had failed ; but as all intercourse with her 

* See Mejia's proclamation, dated March ISth, 1846 ; General Taylor's 
letter, March 21st; Arapudla's dispatch, April 12th ; and Arista's procla- 
mation to the foreigners in the American army, April 20tb. 



262 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

was interrupted, by her own act, this course was impera- 
tively demanded by a due regard for the national honor 
and dignity, leaving out of view the duty of the federal 
government to Texas herself. In occupying the territo- 
ry, this language was held to Mexico : We have ever been 
disposed to negotiate fairly and amicably for the adjust- 
ment of the boundary of Texas, but as you have Avith- 
drawn your minister and refused to hold intercourse with 
us, you have forced us to fix the boundary for ourselves, 
and to occupy the territory with our troops, under orders 
not to molest your people or their possessions, lest it 
might be said hereafter by you, that we had forfeited our 
rights by not occupying the country or exercising author- 
ity over it. 

Accordingly, General Taylor, who had been posted at 
Fort Jesup, since the spring of 1844, with a considerable 
body of troops, was ordered to establish his command in 
Texas, in such a manner as would enable him to protect 
the territory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, 
and to take position with a portion of them west of the 
former river. In compliance with his orders, given under 
the direction of Mr. Polk, General Taylor put his com- 
mand in motion, and early in the month of August, 
1845, — the resolution of annexation having been accept- 
ed by the Texan Congress and Convention, — he landed 
his troops on the bay of Cbrpus Cliristi, west of the 
Nueces, where he established his main encampment, and 
commenced disciplining and instructing his men, in order 
to fit them for active service if it should be required. Ho 
was instructed to respect the rights of property, and not 
to interfere with the Mexican settlements east ot the Rio 



1845-8.] RENEWAL OF DIPLOMATIC INTERCOURSE. 263 

Grande. These instructions were carefully observed by 
the " army of occupation," which was reinforced, until it 
comprised more than half of the entire army of the 
United States. If an attack was threatened, and his 
command appeared to be in danger, General Taylor was 
further authorized, to call upon the goyernors of the 
neighboring states for yolunteers. 

Meanwhile the Mexican government was not idle. Ad- 
hering to their declaration that war existed, and to the 
determination of invading Texas expressed by President 
Herrera, efforts were made to increase the array, and to 
provide^ the means for carrying on the war. The embar- 
rassed condition of the finances pi-evented the immediate 
accomplishment of the wishes of the government, although 
General Arista was ordered from Monterey to Matamo- 
ras, in tlie month of August, with a force of 1,500 men, 
to reinforce the troops already in that quarter, then about 
500 strong. Later in the season, between eight and nine 
thousand men were assembled at San Luis Potosi, under 
General Paredes, then in command of the army of the 
north. 

While matters were in this position, and the scales of war 
and peace hung at an even poise, information was received 
by the American administration, from Mexico, which ren- 
dered it highly probable that the government of that 
country was willing to resume her former relations with 
the United States. The American government cheerful- 
ly took the initiative in renewing their intercourse, in 
order that it might not be said they were loth to recipro- 
cate any friendly feelings understood to exist. Mr. 
Black, the American consul in the city of Mexico, was 



264 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

therefore instructed by Mr. Buclianan, to asccrtaiu 
■whether the Mexican government would receive an envoy, 
" intrusted with full power to adjust all the questions in 
dispute between the two governments ;" and if the reply 
to his inquiry should be in the affirmative, he was in- 
formed that " such an envoy " Avould bo "immediately 
dispatched to Mexico."* A confidential interview took 
place betAveen Mr. Black and Peiia y Peiia, the Mexican 
minister of foreign relations, in which the substance of 
the dispatch received from his government was made 
known by the American Consul ; and on the 13th of 
October, he addressed an official note to the Mexican 
ininister, communicating the instructions he had received, 
in the precise terms of the letter t'f Mr. Buchanan, as 
before quoted. f On the 15th of October, Pefia y Pena 
informed Mr. Black, in writing, that his government was 
*' disposed to receive the commissioner of the United 
States," who might come " with full powers from his 
government to settle the piesent dispute in a peaceful, 
reasonable, and honorable manner."! 

As it has often been questioned, whether the Mexican 
government consented to receive a minister, eo nomine^ 
and as an American historian has conceded the point in 
their favor, § it may be well to inquire carefully what was 
in fact proposed on the one hand, and what was accepted 
on the other. Mr. Black stated distinctly, that his 

* House of Representatives, Exec. Doc. 60 — 1st session 30th Congress— 
p. 12. 
t Ibid., p. 14. 
% Ibid., p. 16. 
§ Ripley's War witii IMexico, vol i. p. 6S. 



1845-8. j CONSENT TO RECEIVE A MINISTER. 265 

government would dispatch to Mexico an envoy clothed 
with full power to settle all disputes. Pefia j Pena did 
not reply, that Mexico would receive no such minister or 
envoy ; but he said, that she would receive the commis- 
sioner coming with full powers to settle the present dis- 
pute. Carefully worded as was the note of the Mexican 
minister, the inference was irresistible that his govern- 
ment consented to receive the identical minister, com- 
missioner, or envoy, whatever he might be styled, pro- 
posed to be sent by Mr. Buchanan, as the cabinet officer 
of President Polk. If this is not so, then the note of 
Peiia y Pena had a double moaning, which subsequent 
events rendered probable ; but the United States were 
justified in construing it in a manner consistent with fair 
and honorable diplomacy. No argument can overturn 
this position, — no sophistry relieve the Mexican govern- 
ment from the imputation of bad faith in this correspond- 
ence.* 

Jealousy, suspicion, and distrust, were manifested by 
all classes and parties in Mexico, at the time when the 
proposition to resume her diplomatic relations with the 
United States was received and accepted. The arrange- 
ment, however, was approved by the Mexican Congress 
in secret session ; the American naval force off Vera Cruz 

* An examination of the original communication of Peiia y Peiia to Mr. 
Black, will fully confirm the position above taken. The following extract 
Las reference to the consent to receive a minister : " En contcstacion deho 
decide, que a ycsar de que la Nacion Mexicana cstd gravcmente ofcndida 
por la de los Estados Unidos, en razon de los hcchos comitidcs por cstd e»i el 
Dcpartamcnto de T(jas, propria de aquclla, mi Gobierno esid dispuerto a 
recibir al comisionado que de los Estados Unidos vcnga a esta Capital con 
plenos poderes de su Gobierno para arreglar de un mode pacifico, razonable 
y decorroso, la conticnda presente." 

12 



266 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

was withdrawn; everything wore a promising aspect; 
end toward the close of October, the Mexican Minister 
of Foreign Relations expressed some anxiety to know 
when the envoy from the United States might be expect- 
ed. The American Executive, immediately upon the 
receipt of Mr. Black's dispatches, appointed Mr. John 
Slidell as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Government of 
Mexico, and gave him full instructions and povrers to 
settle and adjust all differences between the two coun- 
tries.* Mr. Slidell arrived at Vera Cruz on the 80th of 
November, and hastened forward, immediately, to the city 
of Mexico. At Puebla he was met by Mr. Black, Avho 
informed him that the Mexican government were alarmed 
by his arrival at such an inopportune moment, as they 
had not expected him until the 1st of January, and mat- 
ters had not been prepared for his reception. The first 
intimation received by Mr. Black, that the time of the 
arrival of an envoy was deemed of any importance, was on 
the 3rd of December, in an interview with Pena y Peiia, 
and he had hastened from Mexico to meet Mr.' Slidell, 
and communicate with him before he reached the capital. 
It appeared that the administration of Herrera had 
been constantly growing weaker and weaker. Instead 
of seizing, into his own hands, the means which might 
have enabled him to control the turbulent government 
over which he was placed, he suffered them to be used 
for his own destruction. Finesse and management were 
resorted to, when nothing could have so much strength- 
ened his administration, as promptitude, firmness, and 
decision. Early in November he began to be seriously 

* See letter of instructions to Mr. Slidell, November 10, 1&45 



1845s-8.J REVOLUTIONARY PROJECTS. 267 

alarmed ; the fidelity of Parades was suspected ; and 
orders were issued for him to break up his cantofiment at 
San Luis, and to scatter the troops in dijQTerent parts of 
the country. Hcrrera and his ministers were probably 
well disposed to the United States, but their indecision 
was followed by its legitimate results ; and when Mr. 
Slidell presented himself, they attempted to bolster up 
the tottering administration, hy a refusal to receive him. 
The arrival of an envoy from the United States was a 
matter that it was impossible to conceal, after he had 
once landed ; the evil which might easily have been pre- 
vented, if the Mexican government had but intimated the 
necessity for delay, was past all remedy; and Mr. Sli- 
dell concluded to continue his journey to Mexico. 

The fact that the administration of Herrera had con- 
sented to receive a minister, Avas known long previous to 
the arrival of Mr. Slidell, although the pronunciamento 
of Paredes against the goverrnnent, issued at San Luis, 
did not appear until the 15th of December. For several 
weeks before Mr. Slidell reached Mexico, the monarchists 
and centralists in the capital were very busily engaged in 
preparing the plan of their anticipated movement. An 
outbreak was regarded as a matter of certainty, unless 
the administration took measures to prevent it. On the 
second day after his arrival in Mexico, Mr. Slidell ad- 
dressed a letter to the Mexican Minister, dated the 8th 
of December, informing him of his arrival, and desiring 
to know when his credentials would be received and him- 
self accredited. No answer was returned to this commu- 
nication ; and in two private interviews between Mr. 
Black and Pena y Pena, held on the 8th and 13th of 



268 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

December, the latter exhibited so many symptoms of a 
desire to evade a compliance with the terms of the prop- 
osition Avhich the Mexican government had accepted, that 
Mr. Slidell Avrote a second note, on the 15th of the month, 
rcfjuesting to know when he might expect a reply to that 
previously written. On the following day he was in- 
formed by Pena y Pefia, that there had been difficulties in 
regard to his reception, vv-hich it had been found neces- 
sary to submit to the council of government for their de- 
termination. The difficulties alluded to were — that Mr 
Slidell's appointment had not received the sanction of 
the American Congress, or been confirmed by the Sen- 
ate ; and that the Mexican government had consented to 
receive a couunissioner to settle the question rehiting to 
Texas, but not a resident mhiister. These objcctiois 
were evidently mere pretences, as the only argument 
urged against the administration, by Paredes and his 
supporters, was, that it had consented to receive a 
minister, and listen to a proposition for opening new ne- 
gotiations. This was the only question involved, as admit- 
ted by Herrera himself, in a letter Avritten to Senor Pa- 
checo, minister of foreign relations, on the 25th of August, 
1847.* The bad faith of the Mexican administration u. 
this transa.ction was subsequently exhibited in a most un- 
enviable light, by the publication of a communication 
made to the council of government by Pena y Pena, in 
his official capacity, on the 11th of December, at the very 
time when he was professing so much friendship towards 
Mr. Black and Mr. Slidell, in which the refusal to receive 
the minister was recommended in positive and express 

* Senato Exec. Doc. 1 — 1st session 30th Congress — p. 41. 



1845-8.] REFUSAL TO RECEIVE MR. SLIDELL. 269 

terms.* The deliberations of the council, though nomi- 
nallj secret, were matters of public notoriety. Its mem- 
bers were well known to be decidedly opposed to the 
reception, and, on the 18th of December, their dictamen 
advising against it was made public. Information of this 
fact, and of the evident want of frankness and^candor on 
the part of Herrera's administration, in their intercourse 
with him, was communicated by Mr. Slidell, on the same 
day, to the government of the United States. f 

Mr. Slidell addressed two letters to Pefia y Peiia, on 
the iGth and 20th of December, desiring to be informed as 
to the difficulties in the way of his reception, in order to 
remove them, if in the power of himself or of his govern- 
ment. In reply to the second note, the positive deter- 
mination of the Mexican government not to receive him 
was communicated. This decision did not save the ad- 
ministration of Herrera from the consequences of its own 
weakness and pusillanimity. Its want of firmness and 
decision was so manifest, that the military in the capital 
pronouncQfl in favor of the revolutionists on the 29th of 
December, and on the following day Herrera resigned the 
presidency, without making a single effort to quell the 
outbreak. The tide had been turned for months, and he 
lacked the courage to stem it for an instant. Paredes 
entered the city with his troops, in triumph, on the 2d 
of January, and on the next day was chosen provisional 
President. Soon after he was elected to the same office, 
by the Constituent Congress. He had come into power 
for the avowed purpose of putting an end to all negotia- 

* House of Representatives Exec. Doe. — 1st session 29th Congress— p. 49. 
t ibid, p. 18, et sec[. 



270 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

tions with the United States, and of declaring and carry- 
ino- on an offensive war. The desire to establish himself 
firmly in his place rendered him loth to remove the army 
to a distance, and no immediate measures of hostility 
were adopted. In a short time after his elevation, the 
establishment of a monarchy in Mexico was suggested by 
some of his most intimate friends. This movement 
proved to be unpopular, and prevented his obtaining the 
necessary loans for the support and increase of the army. 
The condition of the relations between the United States 
and Great Britain also boded war, and he was quite will- 
ing to wait and see the former engaged Avith a more power- 
ful antagonist, before venturing to cope with their forces 
single-handed. 

]\ir. Slidell had retired to Jalapa in February, to await 
the termination of the revolutionary contest in Mexico. 
As an entirely dificrent government had been establish- 
ed, after the country became more quiet, he addressed a' 
note, on the 1st of March, to the new minister of foreign 
• relations, Castillo y Lanzas, calling his attention to the 
subject of his reception, and requesting to know the 
views of the new administration in regard to the question. 
He was informed, in reply, by the note of the minister, 
written on the 12th, that he could not be received as a 
resident minister, and similar reasons were given for the 
refusal to those previously expressed b}'- Pena y Pena. 
In consequence of this final rejection of the oSer to nego- 
tiate, Mr. Slidell requested the necessary passports,and, 
in a few days, set out on his return to the United States.* 

* See Diplomatic Correspondence, House of Representatives, Doc. 19S— 
1st session 29t]i Congress. 



1845-8. j HIS COURSE CENSURED. 271 

The Mexican government immediately commenced making 
preparations for Avar. Loans were obtained, arms and 
supplies provided for the army, and its numerical force 
augmented ; and on the 4th of April, positive orders were 
issued to the officers commanding on the northern frontier, 
to attack the American troops. 

In the meantime, the American administration had not 
been unmindful of the duty imposed upon them. The 
dispatch of Mr. Slidell exposing the duplicity and bad 
faith of the Mexican government, and announcing the 
didamen of the council, was received on the 12th of 
January, 1846, and on the following day General Taylor 
was instructed to advance and occupy with his troops po- 
sitions on or near the east bank of the Rio Grande, as 
Soon as it could conveniently be done. He was further 
directed to observe his former orders ; to commit no act 
of hostility or aggression ; not to enforce the common 
right of navigating the river, or to treat Mexico as an 
enemy unless she assumed that character ; but to repel 
anj attack, and if hostilities were commenced by the 
Mexican troops, to adopt such oifensive measures as he 
might deem advisable. 

In the heat of party strife, it was natural that the con- 
duct of President Polk in directing the advance of Gene- 
ral Taylor to the Rio Grande, should be severely critised 
and censured by the opposition. The same thing was 
witnessed during the administration of Mr. Madison, with 
reference to the war of 1812 ; he was maligned and ca- 
lumniated by his political opponents, but posterity has 
meted out justice to him and to them. The memory of 
Madison is enshrined in the hearts and affections of the 



272 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

American people, while tlie federalism of his day has de- 
scended to the tomb of the Capulets. And will not the 
historian of a succeeding age discover a parallel to this 
m the administration of James K. Polk ? Political oppo- 
nents, with minds heated bj party collisions and animos- 
ities, and warped by prejudice, represented him as an- 
other Cajsar, 

" ranging for revenge. 
With Ate by his side, come hot from hell," 

and Uttering her fell cry of " havoc," as he unleashed the 
dogs of war. 

But attacks of this character passed him by unheeded. 
Strong in the consciousness of right, he desired only to 
discharge what he conceived to be his duty. He was a 
man of peace. The suffering and wretchedness, the 
misery and woe, which Avar produced, he always deplor- 
ed ; but no reflections that he was responsible in auglit 
for increasing its horrors ever occasioned him a moment's 
pain, or disturbed the calm serenity of his dying hour. 
He would, indeed, have been recreant to duty, — filse to 
himself and false to his country, — had lie not ordered the 
advance to the Rio Grande. It was the policy of wis- 
dom — the policy of right — the policy of justice. 

It has been said, that Genera! Taylor ought to have 
remained in his position at Corpus Caristi, on the de- 
fence, and tiie ports of Mexico been blockaded ; and thus 
an actual collision Avould have been avoided ; but this 
argument is put forth ni entire ignorance of the imprac- 
ticability of the Spanish character. Had this policy 
been adopted, the question would either never have been 
settled, and the United States compelled to maintain an 



1845-8.] COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. 273 

army in the field, and a naval force in the Gulf of Mexi- 
co, at great expense, for an indefinite period of time ; or 
else hostilities would soon have ensued, and in the latter 
event, the American army would have been obliged to 
traverse the Aveary route between Corpus Christi and the 
Rio Grande before being able to strike an effective blow. 
The history of Mexico furnishes a case in point. She 
laughed to scorn the tri-color of France when her har- 
bors were blockaded, but soon repented of her folly, when 
the walls of San Juan de Ulua came tumbling down into 
the roadstead of Vera Cruz. 

In fulfilment of his instructions, General Taylor broke 
up his encampment at Corpus Christi on the 8th day of 
March, 1846, and commenced Uioving his army in the 
direction of the Rio Grande. No opposition was offered 
to his march, but on his approach to Point Isabel, the 
buildirgi of tlic settlement there, called Frontone, were 
set on five, under the orders of Mexican officers. This 
he vicAved as an act of Avar ; and properly so, because it 
Avas the destruction of property on territory the title to 
which Avas in dispute. He determined, however, to pre- 
serve the peaceful attitude which he had hitherto main- 
tained, and leaA^ng a small body of troops at the point, 
Avhere he established his principal depot of stores, he 
continued his march with the main army till he reached the 
bank of the Rio Grande, opposite Matamoras. He then 
dispatched one of his officers, General Worth, across the 
river, as the bearer of a communication to General Me- 
jia, the officer in command at Matamoras, informing him 
of the desire of the American commander for amicable 
relations, of his intention not to commit any acts of hos- 
12* 



274 JAMES KNCrX POLK. [1845-8. 

tility unless he was attacked, and of liis Avillingness to 
leave the port of Brazos Santiago open to the citizens of 
Matamoras until the boundary question should be defin- 
itely settled. 

General Worth was received by General la Vega, the 
second in command, who refused to convey the communi- 
cation of General Taylor to General Mejia. General 
Worth then requested permission to communicate with 
the American Consul at Matamoras. This Avas also re- 
fused, whereupon he returned to General Taylor's posi- 
tion, and informed him of the result of his mission. 
Orders w^ere now given to encamp, and the American flag 
was for the first time planted on the shores of the Rio 
Grande. For the security of his command, and not in a 
spirit of defiance, General Taylor fortified his position, 
and placed his artillery so as to cover the approaches. 
Everything continued peaceful until the arrival of General 
Ampudia at Matamoras, on the 11th of April, 1846, with 
a reinforcement of about twenty-five hundred men. He 
immediately assumed the command, and required General 
Taylor to abandon his position, and to retire beyond the 
Nueces, or the war vrould be commenced. General Taylor 
declined to discuss the international question, and refused 
to retire. 

But the existence of a state of war having been thus 
announced, General Taylor directed the mouth of the 
Rio Grande to be blockaded by the American naval com- 
mander at Brazos Santiago, who had received orders to 
cooperate with him. No further offensive measures were 
at the time adopted by him, although outrages, perpetra- 
ted by the Mexican irregular troops, or rancheros, were 



1845-8.] INCIDENTS OF THE WAR. 275 

of almost daily occurrence. At length the Mexican army, 
now under the command of General Arista, crossed the Rio 
Grande in force, 'intending to surround General Taylor's 
position, and compel him to capitulate. But he and his 
soldiers, like the garrison of Cambray, though they did 
not know how to surrender, knew very well " how to fight." 

On the 24th of April, a body of Mexican lancers com- 
mitted an unprovoked attack upon a party of American 
troops sent out to observe the movements of Arista. The 
Congress of the United States was at this time in session, 
and on receiving the intelligence of the hostile encounter, 
the President communicated it to them in a special mes- 
sage, on the 11th day of May, with the recommendation 
that the most energetic measures should be adopted. An 
act was therefore passed, on the 13th inst., with great 
unanimity, — there being but fourteen negative votes in 
the House of Representatives, and but two in the Senate, 
— declaring that a state of war existed between the two 
countries, " by the act of the republic of Mexico."* Pro- 
vision was also made in the law for filling up the regu- 
lar regiments ; the President was authorized to accept the 
services of fifty thousand volunteers ; and the sum of ten 
millions of dollars was appropi'iated to carry on the war. 

The utmost activity now prevailed in all the executive 
departments at Washington. Additional duties were im- 
posed upon the President, but they were performed with 
promptitude. While the war continued, he read all the 
dispatches of importance, and often prepared or dictated 

* This clause, which was contained in the preamble, was not approvec 
by jthe Whig members. They endeavored to have the preamble stricken 
<?ui, but when the motion failed, most of them voted for the act. 



276 JAMES KNOX POLK. [184;5-8. 

the orders and instructions. Daring the summer of 18-±6j 
nearly twent}^ thousand men were thrown forward in the 
direction of tlie seat of war. General Taylor was large- 
ly reinforced, and strong columns of attack were directed 
upon Chiliuahua and New Mexico, under Generals Wool 
and Kearn}^ Previous to tliis, however, General Taylor 
liad driven the Mexicans from the left bank of the Rio 
Grande, hy his brilliant victories at Palo Alto and Resaca 
de la Palma. On the arrival of his reinforcements and 
supplies, he proceeded agahist Monterey, the capital of 
New Lf'on, where the often routed columns of the enemy 
Lad rallied ; and after a stout resistance, this town also 
surrendered to his arms, on the 24th of September. On 
the 23d day of February following, he achieved a decisive 
victory over Santa Anna, who had succeeded Paredes as 
the head of the Mexican republic, near the hacienda of 
Buena Vista. 

Meanwhile, General Scott had been dispatched with a 
powerful armament to Vera Cruz. Landing near thai- 
town with an army about thirteen thousand strong, he 
formed a line of investment and opened his batteries. 
The city soon surrendered, and with it the castle of San 
Juan de Ulua., Having garrisoned the town and castle, 
he took up the line of march for the Mexican capital. 
Driving the enemy from the pass of Cerro Gordo by a 
well-executed coup-de-main, he continued along the Na- 
tional Road to Puebla, Avhere he awaited the arrival of 
reinforcements. When these came up, he moved upon 
the city of Mexico with his army arranged in four di- 
visions, under the command, respectively, of Generals 
Worth, Twiggs, Pillow, and Quitman. Passing round 



1845-8. j THE ARMISTICE. 27T 

the lakes Chalco and Xocliimilco, lie came upon the south- 
era approaches to the city of Mexico. On the 19th and 
20tl) of August, 1847, Avere fought the bloody battles of 
Contreras and Churubusco, and the capital itself seemed 
ready to fall into the hands of the victorious Americans. 
The AL'xicau authorities began to repent of their temeri- 
ty in provoking so unequal a struggle, and proposed an 
armistic.;, to give an opportunity for opening negotiations, 
to which General Scott cheerfully assented. 

Repeated efforts to negotiate had been made in the 
meantime by the American government. In July, 1846, 
a proposition was distinctly made by Mr. Buchanan to 
the Mexican executive to open negotiations for the con- 
clusion of a pe^ce-, but the friendly offer was again de- 
clined. In the spring of 1847, Mr. Trist, formerly the 
chief clerk in the Department of State, was appointed, 
contrary to the better judgment of Mr. Polk, but in com- 
pliance with the request of a great number of his friends, 
as a commissioner to accompany the- column commanded 
by GeneVal Scott, in order that if propositions of peace 
■were offered they might be acted on without delay. When 
the armistice was concluded, therefore, Mr. Trist held 
several conferences with the commissioners appointed by 
the Mexican government, but the terms demanded by the 
latter were wholly inadmissible, and the negotiation ter- 
minated abruptl3^ The armistice had already been in- 
fringed, on several occasions, and Gen. Scott determined 
to be trifled with no longer. On the 8th of September 
the battle of El Molino del Rey was fought ; on the 13th 
instant, the castle of Chapultepec was stormed and the 
"western gates of the city seized by the American troops ; 



278 JAIVIES KNOX POLK. [1845-8. 

and on the following day their standard was unfurled in 
triumph on the Pakicio of Mexico. 

Soon after the commencement of the war, New Mexico 
and the Californias had been overrun and taken posses- 
sion of, by General Kearny and Colonel Fremont, with 
tlie assistance of the naval squadron in the Pacific, under 
tlie command, at different periods, of Commodores Biddle, 
Stockton, Shubrick, and Jones. Besides the conquest of 
the northern provinces of Mexico, General Taylor had 
in his possession, or under his control, the provinces of 
Tamaulipas, New Leon, and Coahuila; Tampico, Tuspan, 
Alvarado, and Tabasco, had been captured by Comano- 
dores Conner and Perry ; and General Scott held the city 
of Vera Cruz, the castle of San Juan de Ulua, the line of 
the National Road, with the important towns which it in- 
tersected, and the capital of the Mexican repubUc. All 
this had been accomplished in less than eighteen months 
after the first collision on the banks of the Rio -Grande. 
No difiiculties seemed too great for the American soldiers 
to overcome. — no odds too fearful for them to meet. 
Against three and four times their numbers, they con- 
tended, frequently under great disadvantages of position, 
but always with success ; and wherever their flag was 
borne, the eagles of victory delighted to hover above it. 

Mexico was now willing to negotiate. Mr.Trist had 
been recalled, in consequence of acting in disregard of 
his instructions, but he had not yet left Mexico, and un- 
der the advice of General Scott, he concluded a treaty 
with the Mexican commissioners appointed for that pur- 
pose, at Guadalupe Hidalgo, on the 2d day of February, 
1848. By this treaty the Rio Grande was estabhshcd 



1848.] TREATY OF PEACE. 279 

as the boundary between the United States and Mexico, 
below El Paso ; and the provinces of New Mexico and 
Upper California, — the latter with all its rich mines of 
wealth, then not known to exist, — were ceded to the 
United States, in consideration of the payment to Mexi- 
co of the sum of fifteen millions of dollars, and the as- 
sumption by the former of the claims of her citizens. 

As the terras of the treaty were, with some slight ex- 
ceptions, satisfactory to Mr. Polk, he submitted it to the 
Senate, although it had been concluded by an unauthor- 
ized person. That body duly ratified it, with certain 
modifications, on the lOth of March ; the amendments 
were approved by the Mexican Congress, and on the 30th 
day of May, the ratifications were exchanged in the city 
of Queretaro, by the commissioners of the two govern- 
ments. 



bHATTEll X. 

The Independent Treasury— Tariff of 1S46— Course in regard to Ajipoint- 
ments — River and Harbor Veto— Second Annual Message— Special Mes- 
sage on the Improvement Bill — Thirtieth Congress — President's jNIes- 
sage — Refusal to Communicate Diplomatic Correspondence — Oregon 
Territorial Bill — Views of Mr. Polk — Presidential Election — Last Con- 
gress during his administration — Inauguration of his successor. 



Amoxg the principal recorainendations in the first an- 
nual message of President Polk, -were the reestablishment 
of the independent treasury system ; the revision of the 
tariff act of 1842, in such a manner as to have it conform 
to the, revenue standard, v.ith tlie substitution of ad- 
valorem duties for mininnuus, or false valuations, and for 
specific duties ; the increase of t .e navj by the construc- 
tion of additional v.nr j^teauiers ; and the graduation and 
reduction of the minimum rate ai which the public lands 
were sold. 

These recommendations were cordially approved by 
Congress. The independent treasury law was revived, 
and again established under more favorable auspices than 
those which attended '^< first introduction into the finan- 
cial system of the g«\ trnment. A new tariff hr,v — 
known as the tariff of 1846 — of a purely revenue charac- 
ter, and based on a plan prepared by the secretary of the 
treasury, Mr. Walker, was also reported in the House 
of Representatives from the Committee of Ways and 
Means. A protracted and able debate, in which the 



1845-9.] APPOINTMENTS TO OFFICE. 281 

Tvhole subject of the tariff was viewed and reviewed, con- 
sidered and reconsidered, for the hundredth time, engaged 
the attention of members for several Aveeks. The bill 
was finally adopted in the House by a vote of one hundred 
and fourteen to ninety -four. In the Senate it was sus- 
tained by a vote of twenty-eight to twenty-seven, and it 
went into operation on the 1st day of December, 184G. 
At this session, also, a bill was passed, and approved by 
the President, authorizing imported goods subject to duty 
to be warehoused in the public stores for a limited pe- 
riod, — the duties to be paid when the goods were re- 
moved. 

Most of the time of the tvro Houses tovrard the latter 
part of the session, was occupied in considering and act- 
in o- upon the various measures suggested or proposed for 
carrying on the vwir. In general a most commendable 
spirit prevailed in this respect, among the members of 
both parties. Whatever the President asked for was 
promptly voted, and in addition to the increase of the reg- 
ular army, the placing the navy on a war footing, and 
the authority to call out volunteers, ample pecuniary 
means were placed at his disposal. Besides the first ap- 
propriation of ten millions of dollars, another was made 
of twelve millions, and various smaller sums were granted 
at different times. 

During this session of Congress, the President was re- 
quired to make a great number of changes in the offices 
filled by his appointment, and also to propose many new 
appointments. In making his selections from the some- 
Avhat numerous applicants, he was ever governed by two 
considerations, — that of securing a faithful, able, and 



282 JAMES KNOX POLK, [1845-9, 

honest officer, and, if consistent with the former, that of 
promoting the interests and welfare of the party which 
had elevated him to the position he jBlled. His situation 
was one of great delicacy. Formidable divisions had 
grown up in the democratic party of New York ; in Penn- 
sylvania, the friends of Mr. Dallas and Mr. Buchanan 
were not on the most cordial terms ; in the west, Mr. 
Benton had many warm adherents, and many bitter op- 
ponents, in the republican party ; and in the south, the 
admirers of Mr. Calhoun, and those who were not willing 
to follow his lead, were often pitted against each other. 
To avoid an open rupture with one or other of these fac- 
tions was difficult, but he succeeded in doing so until the 
last year of his administration. 

, Near the close of the session, a bill was introduced into 
the House of Representatives, placlr.g at the disposal of 
the President the sum of three millions of dollars, to be 
used by him, if he deemed it expedient, in the negotiation 
of a treaty of peace with Mexico. While the bill was 
under discussion, Mr. Wilmot, a member from Pennsyl- 
vania, and a professed friend to the administration, moved 
the addition of a proviso — to which his name has since 
been applied — prohibiting the existence of domestic sla- 
very, except for crime, in any territory on the continent 
of America acquired by or annexed to the United States, 
by virtue of the appropriation. Like the measures of 
the abolitionists in former years, this proposition was re- 
garded by the southern members as a blow aimed at the 
interests which they were expected to guard. They op- 
posed it, therefore, but as it came upon them suddenly, 
at the close of a fatiguing session, it did not excite much 



1845-9. J HARBOR AND RIVER BILL. 283 

feeling or occasion much debate. It was supported by 
nearly all the members from the free states, and was con- 
sequently carried, in opposition to the votes of the mem- 
bers from the slaveholding states. In the Senate, the 
bill, which had been amended by reducing the sum asked 
for to two millions of dollars, Avas lost for want of time. 
A short time prior to the adjournment, an act was pass- 
ed in the Senate, which had received the favorable vote 
of the House on the 20th of March, making appropria- 
tions for the improvement of certain harbors and rivers, 
in all amounting to nearly fifteen hundred thousand dol- 
lars. The views of Mr. Polk on the subject of internal 
improvements had been long maturing, but they were now 
firmly established. The appropriation of so large an 
amount of money, at this peculiar juncture, when the 
country was involved in war, appeared to him most un- 
wise ; but he was opposed to the bill upon principle. A 
number of the appropriations were for the improvement of 
rivers that could scarcely be called navigable, and of har- 
bors, on the northern and western lakes, where there was 
no commerce, and which were not required for the securi- 
ty or shelter of vessels engaged in it. In his opinion, 
these appropriations were not needed for the protection 
of foreign commerce, or of the vessels of the United 
States ; and he was unable, therefore, to discover any 
authority for making them, in the federal constitution. 
For this reason he returned the bill to the House, on the 
3d day of August, 1846, with the following message sta- 
ting his objections to its passage : 



284 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9 



HARBOR A\D RIVER VETO. 

To the House of Representatives : 

I HAVE considered tlie bill entitled " An act making appro- 
priations for the impovement of certain harbors and rivers," 
with the care which its importance demands, and nov/ retin-n 
the same to the House of Representatives, in which it origi- 
nated, with my objections to its becoming a law. The bill 
proposes to appropriate one million three hundred and sev- 
enty-eight thousand four hundred and fifty dollars, to be ap- 
plied to more than forty distinct and separate objects of im- 
provement. On examining its provisions, and the variety of 
objects of improvement Avhich it embraces, many of them of 
a local character, it is difficult to conceive, if it shall be sanc- 
tioned and become a law, what practical constitutional re- 
straint can hereafter be imposed upon the most extended sys- 
tem of internal improvements by the federal government in 
all parts of the Union. The constitution has not, in my judg- 
ment, conferred upon the federal government the power to 
construct works of internal improvement within the States, or 
to appropriate money from the treasury for that purpose. 
That this bill assumes for the federal government the right to 
exercise this power, cannot, I think, be doubted. The ap- 
proved course of the government, and the deliberately ex- 
pressed judgment of the people, have denied the existence of 
such a power under the constitution. Several of my prede- 
cessors have denied its existence in the most solemn forms. 

The general proposition that the federal government does 
not possess this power is so Avell settled, and has for a con- 
siderable period been so generally asquiesced in, that it is not 
deemed necessary to reiterate the arguments by which it is 
sustained. Nor do I deem it necessary, after the full and 
elaborate discussions which have taken place before the coun- 
try on this subject, to do more than state the general consid- 



1845-9.] HARBOR AND RIVER, VETO. 285 

erations wliicli have satisfied me of the unconstitutiouahty and 
inexpediency of the increase of such a power. 

It is not questioned that the federal government is one of 
limited powers. Its powers are such, and such only, as are 
expressly granted in the constitution, or are properly incident 
to the expressly granted powers, and necessary to their exe- 
cution. In determining whether a given power has been 
granted, a sound rule of construction has been laid down by 
Mr. Madison. Tliat rule is, that " whenever a question arises 
concerning a particular power, the first question is whether 
the power be expressed in the constitution. If i't be, the 
question is decided. If it be not expressed, the next inquiry 
must be, whether it is properly an incident to an expressed 
power, and necessary to its execution. If it be, it may be ex- 
ercised by Congress. If it be not, Congress cannot exercise 
it." It is not pretended that there is any express grant in 
tlie constitution conferring on Congress the power in question. 
Is it, then, an incidental power, necessary and proper for the 
execution of any of the granted powers ? All the granted 
powers, it is confidently affirmed, may be eflfectually executed 
without the aid of such an incident. " A power to be inci- 
'^ental must not be exercised for ends which make it a princi- 
pal, or substantive power, independent of the principal power 
to which it is an incident." It is not enough that it may be 
regarded by Congress as convenient, or that its exercise would 
advance the public weal. It must be necessary and proper 
to the execution of the principal expressed power to which it 
is an incident, and witliout wjiich such principal power can- 
not be carried into effect. The Avliole frame of the federal 
constitution proves that the government which it creates was 
intended to be one of limited and specified powers. A con- 
struction of the constitution, so broad as that by which tlie 
power in question is defended, tends imperceptibly to a con- 
solidation of power in a go\'ernment intended by its framers 
to be thus limited in its authority. " The obvious tendency 



286 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

and inevitable result of a consolidation of the States into one 
sovereignt)^ would be to transform the republican system of 
the United States into a monarchy." To guard against the 
assumption of all powers Avhich encroach upon the reserved 
Eovereignty of the States, and which consequently tend to 
consolidation, is the duty of all tlie true friends of our polit- 
ical system. I'hat the power in question is not properly an 
incident to any of the granted powei-s, I am fully satisfied ; 
but if there were doubts on this subject, experience has de- 
monstrated the wisSom of the rule, that all tlie functionaries 
of the federal government should abstain from the exercise 
of all questionable or doubtful powers. If an enlargement of 
the powers of the federal government should be deemed pro- 
per, it is safer and wiser to appeal to the States and the peo- 
ple, in the mode prescribed by the constitution, for the grant 
desired, than to assume its exercise without an amendment of 
the constitutio'n. If Congress does not possess the general 
power to construct works of internal improvement witliin ll^e 
States, or to appropriate money from the treasury for that 
purpose, what is there to exempt some, at least, of the ob- 
jects of appropriation included in this bill, from the operation 
of the general rule ? This bill assumes the existence of the 
power, and in some of its provisions asserts the principle, that 
Congress may exercise it as fully as though the appropria- 
tions which it proposes were applicable to .the construction of 
roads and canals. If there be a distinction in principle, it is 
not perceived, and should be clearly defined. Some of the 
objects of appropriation containe'd in this bill arc local in their 
character, a^d lie within the limits of a single ■ State ; and 
though, in the language of the bill, they are called harbors; 
they fire not connected with foreign commerce, nor are they 
places of refuge or shelter for our navy, or commercial ma- 
rine, on the ocean or lake shores. To call the mouth of a 
creek, or a shallow inlet on our coast, a harbor, cannot confer 
the authority to expend the public money in its improvement. 



1845-9.] HARBOR AND KIVER VETO. 287 

Congress liave exercised the. power, coeval with the constitu- 
tion, of estabhshing lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and piers, on 
our ocean and lake shores, for^the purpose of rendering navi- 
gation safe and easy, and of affording protection and shelter 
for our navy and other shipping. These are safeguards 
placed in existing channels of navigation. After the long ac- 
quiescence of the government through all preceding adminis- 
trations, T am not disposed to question or disturb the author- 
ity to make appropriations for such purposes. 

When we advance a st^ beyond this point, and, in addi- 
tion to. the establ'slirnont ;ind support, by appropriations fron? 
the treasur)', of lighthouses, beacons, buoys, piers, and oliier 
improvements, within the bays, inlets, and harbors, on our 
ocean and lake coasts immediately connected with our foreign 
commerce, attempt to make improvements in the interior at 
points unconnected with foreign commerce, and where they 
are not needed for tlie protection and security of our navy 
and commercial marine, the difficulty arises in drawing a line 
beyond which appropriations may not be made by the fed- 
eral government. 

One of my predecessors, who saAV the evil consequences of 
the system proposed to be revived by this bill, attempted to 
define this line by declaring that " expenditures of this char- 
acter" should be "confined below the ports of entry or de- 
livery established by law?' Acting on this restriction, . he 
withheld his sanction from a bill which had passed Congress 
" to improve the navigation of the Wabash river." He was 
at the same time " sensible that this restriction was not as 
satisfactory as could be desired, and that much embarrass- 
ment may be caused to the Executive Department in its exe- 
cution, by appropriations for remote and not well-understood 
objects." This restriction, it was soon found, was subject to 
be evaded, and rendered comparatively useless in checking 
the system of improvements which it was designed to arrest, 
in consequence of the facility with which ports of entry and 



288 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

delivery may be establislied by law upon the upper waters ; 
and in some instances almost at the head springs of some of 
the most unimportant rivers, and at points on our coast pos- 
sessing no commercial importance, and not used as places of 
refuge and safety by our navy, and other shipping. Many 
of the ports of entry and delivery now authorized by law, so 
far as foreign commerce is concerned, exist only in the statute- 
books. No entry of foreign goods is ever made, and no du- 
ties are ever collected at them. Tsio exports of American 
products bound for foreign countries ever clear from them. 
To assume that their existence in the statute-book as ports of 
entiy or delivery, warrants expenditures on the waters lead- 
ing to them, wliich would be otherwise unauthorized, would 
be to assert the proposition that the law-making power may 
engraft new provisions on the constitution. If the restriction 
is a sound one, it can only apply to the bays, inlets, and riv- 
ers connected Avith or leading to such ports as actually have 
foreign commerce ; ports at Avhich foreign importations arrive 
in bulk, paying the duties charged by law, and from which 
exports are made to foreign countries. It will be found, by 
applying the restriction, thus understood, to the bill under 
consideration, that it contains appropriations for more than 
twenty objects of internal impi'ovement, called in the bill har- 
bors, at places Avhich have never been declared by law either 
ports of entry or delivery, and at which, as appears from the ■ 
records of the treasury, there has never been a vessel cleared 
for a foreign country. 

It will be found that many of these works are new, and at 
places for the improvement of which appropriations are now 
for the first time proposed. It will be found, also, that the 
bill contains appropriations for rivers upon which there not 
only exists no foreign commerce, but upon which there has not 
been established even a paper port of entry, and for the mouths 
of creeks, denominated harbors, which, if improved, can ben- 
efit only the particular neighborhood in which they are situa- 



1845-9. J HARGOR AND RIVER VETO. 289 

ted. It will be found, too, to contain appropriations, tlie 
expenditure of which will only have the effect of improving 
one place at the expense of the local, natural advantages of 
another in its vicinity. Should this bill become a law, the 
same principle which authorizes the appropriations which it 
proposes -to make, Avould also authorize similar appropriations 
for the improvement of all the other bays, inlets, and creeks, 
which may with equal propriety be called hai'bors, and of all 
the rivers, important or vmimportant, in every part of the Union. 
To sanction the bill with such provisions, would be to con- 
cede the principle that the federal government possesses the 
power to expend the public money in a general system of in- 
ternal improvements, limited in its extent only by the ever- 
varying discretion of successive Congresses and successive 
executives. It would be to eff;\ce and remove the limitations 
and restrictions of power which the constitution has wisely 
provided, to limit the authority and action of the federal 
government to a few well-defined and specified objects. Be- 
sides these objections, the practical evils which must flow 
from the exercise, on the part of the federal government, of 
the powers asserted in this bill, impress my mjnd wirth a grave 
sense of my duty to avert them from the country, as far as 
my constitutional action may enable me to do so. 

It not only leads to a consolidation of power in the federal 
government at the expense of the rightful authority of the 
states, but its inevitable tendency is to embrace objects for 
the expenditure of the public money which are local in their 
character, benefiting but few, at the expense of the common 
treasury of the whole. It will engender sectional feelings 
and prejudices calculated to disturb the harmony of the 
Union. It will destroy the harmony which should prevail in 
our legislative counsels. It will produce combinations of 
local and sectional interests, strong enouarh, when united, 
to carry propositions for appropriations of public money which 
could not of themselves, and standing alone, succeed, and 
13 



290 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

cannot fail to lead to wasteful and extravagant expenditures. 
It must produce a disreputable scramble for the public 
money, by the conflict which is inseparable from such a sys- 
tem, between local and individual interests, and the general 
interests of the whole. It is unjust to those states Avhich 
have, Arith their own means, constructed their own- internal 
improvements, to make from the common treasury appropri- 
ations for similar improvements in other states. In its op- 
eration it will be oppre'Ssive and unjust toward those states 
v.hose representatives and people either deny or doubt the 
existence of the power, or think its exercise inexpedient, and 
who, while they equally contribute to the treasury, cannot, 
consistently with their opinions, engage in the general com- 
petition for a share of the public money. Thus, a large por- 
tion of the Union in numbers and in geographical extent, con- 
tributing its equal proportion of taxes to the support of the 
government, would, under the operation of such a system, be 
compelled to see the national treasure — the common stock 
of all — unequally disbursed, and often improvidently wasted, 
for the advantage of small sections, instead of being applied 
to the great national purposes in which ail have a common 
interest, and for which alone the power to collect the revenue 
was given. Should the system of internal improvements 
proposed prevail, all tliese evils will multiply and increase 
Avith the increase of the number of the States, and the extension 
of the o-eoo-raphieal limits of the settled portions of our coun- 
try. With the increase of our numbers and the extension ot 
our settlements, the local objects demanding appropriations 
of the public money for their improvements will be propor- 
tionately increased. In each case, the expenditure of the 
public money would confer benefits, direct or indirect, only 
on a section, while these sections would become daily less in 
comparison with the whole. 

The wisdom of the framers of the constitution, in withhold- 
ing power over such objects from the fedeial government, and 



1845-9.] HARBOR AND RIVER VETO. 291 

leaving them to the local governments of the states, becomes 
more and more manifest with every year's experience of the 
operations of our system. In a country of limited extent, 
with but few such objects of expenditure, (if the form of gov- 
ernment permitted it), a common treasury might be used for 
theif improvement with much less inequality and injvistice 
than in one of the vast extent which ours now presents in 
population and territory. The treasure of the world would 
hardly be equal to the improvement of every bay, inlet, creek, 
and river, in our country, which might be supposed to pro- 
mote the agricultural, manufacturing, or commercial interests 
of a neighborhood. The federal constitution was wisely 
adapted in its provisions to any expansion of our limits and 
population ; and with the advance of the confederacy of the 
States, in the career of national greatness, it becomes the 
more apparent that the harmony of the Union, and the equal 
justice to which all its parts are entitled, require that the fed- 
eral government should confine its action within the limits 
prescribed by the constitution to its power and authority. 
Some of the provisions of this bill are not subject to the ob- 
jections stated ; and, did they stand alone, I should not feel 
it to be my duty to withhold my approval. If no constitu- 
tional objections existed to the bill, there are others of a. seri- 
ous nature which deserve some consideration. It appropri- 
ates between one and two millions of dollars for objects which 
are of no pressing necessity ; and this is proposed, at a time 
when the country is engaged in a foreign war, and when Con- 
gress at its present session has authorized a loan, or the issue 
of treasury-notes, to defray the expenses of the war, to be re- 
sorted to if the " exigencies of the government shall require 
it." It would seem to be the dictate of wisdom, under such 
circumstances, to husband our means, and not to waste them 
on comparatively unimportant objects, so that we may reduce 
the loan or issue of treasury-notes, which may become neces- 
sary, to the smallest practicable sum. It would seem to be 



292 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

wise, too, to abstain from such expenditures with a view to 
avoid the accumulation of a large public debt, the existence 
of which would be opposed to the interests of our people, as 
well as to the genius of our free institutions. 

Should this bill become a law, the principle which it estab- 
lishes will inevitably lead to large and annually increasing 
appi-opriations and drains upon the treasuiy, for it is not to 
be doubted, that numerous other localities, not embraced in 
its provisions, but quite as much entitled to the favor of the 
government as those which are embraced, will demand, 
through their representatives in Congress, to be placed on an 
equal footing with them. With such an increase of expend- 
iture must necessarily follow either an increased public debt, 
or increased burdens upon the people by taxation, to supply 
the treasury with the means of meeting the accumulated de- 
mands upon it. Wilh profound respect for the opinions of 
Congress, and ever anxious, as far as 1 can consistently with 
my responsibility to our common constituents, to cooperate with 
them in the discharge of our respective duties, it is with un- 
feigned regret that 1 find myself constrained, for the reasons 
which I have assigned, to withhold my approval from this 
bill. 

The veto of the President occasioned surprise on the 
part of some of the members of the House, who were 
either ignorant of his sentiments on the subject of inter- 
nal improvements, or supposed that he would overlook 
the few items in the bill of an objectionable character. 
After some debate, the bill was reconsidered on the 4th 
of August, and declared lost. Ninety-seven members 
voted that the bill should become a law, notwithstanding 
the objections of the President, and ninety-one voted in 
the negative; consequently there were not two-thirds in 
its favor. 



1845-9.] SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 293 

On the 7tli day of December, the twenty-ninth Con- 
gress reassembled for the short session. The war with 
Mexico was the principal topic discussed in the Presi- 
dent's message. He recommended the vigorous prosecu- 
tion of offensive measures until " indemnity for the past 
and security for the future " were obtained, the granting 
of letters of marque and reprisal, and the appropriation 
of the sum of three millions of dollars asked for at the 
previous session. He also repeated his views in regard 
to the tariff system, and the graduation and reduction of 
the prices of the public lands.* 

A bill making the desired appropriation of three mil- 
lions, was introduced, and passed the House, with the 
addition of the Wilmot Proviso adopted as an amend- 
ment after a long and heated debate ; but in the Senate, 
the amendment was stricken out, and the bill afterwards 
became a law in its original shape. Bills providino- for 
the increase of the army by ten regiments, for the ap- 
pointment of additional officers, and for the construction 
of four mail-steamers, and the employment of twelve in 
addition, to be built by private individuals, in the mail 
service, were passed at this session. 

At this session, also, an act was passed entitled " an 
act to provide for continuing a certain public work in the 
Territory of Wisconsin, and other purposes." This bill 
was the same, substantially, with that vetoed by the 
President at the previous session. It was adopted in the 
House by a vote of 80 to 72, and passed the Senate on 
the last day of the session. Not having time to examine 
with sufl5cient care the details of the bill, or to prepare a 

* See the Appendix. 



294 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

statement of his objections, the President retained it in 
his hands until after the adjournment of Congress, 
wherefore it did not become a law. At an early day in 
the ensuing session, however, he sent a special message 
to the House setting forth his reasons for retaining the 
bill, and his objections to its passage, which were simihrr 
to those stated in the Harbor and River Veto, but more 
elaborately considered, and more fully expressed.* 

In June, 1847, Mr. Polk, accompanied by Mr. Mason,! 
Attended the commencement ceremonies of his Alma 
Mater, and shortly thereafter he made a tour througli 
the middle and eastern states, extending his journey as 
far as Portland, in the state of Maine. In every town 
and city through which he passc'<l, he was welcomed in 
an appropriate manner, — such as became the high office 
which he held by the suffrages of his countrymen, and 
such as became the freemen, of all parties and creeds, 
who assembled to do him honor. 

The elections for members of the thirtieth Congress, 
resulted unfavorably to the adtninistration, mainly on 
account of local dissensions in the democratic party in 
the state of New York. In the House of Representa- 
tives, the whigs secured a small majority. This Con- 
gress convened for its first session on the 6th of Decem- 



* See the Appendix. 

t Mr. Mason was now the Secretary of the Navy, he having been trans- 
ferred to that ofBee on the appointment of Mr. Banei'oft as minister to 
l^ngland. Nathan Clifford, of Maine, was appointed attorney-general in 
the placf of Mr. Mason. In the winter of 1S43, ilr. Clifford was appointed 
minister to Mexico, and Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, was made attornej'- 
general. These were the only changes that took place in Mr. Polk's cabinet 



1845-9.J VIEWS ON THE DEFENSIVE POLICY. 295 

ber, 1847, ind did not adjourn till the 14tli of August, 
1848. Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, was sup- 
ported by the whig members for the office of speaker, 
and was elected on the third ballot, hy five majority over 
Linn Boyd, of Kentucky, and other democratic candi- 
dates. The president's message was delivered to the 
two houses on the 7tli instant. Like all his state papers, 
it was an able document. Topics connected with the 
war occupied a prominent place in it, and he repeated 
his recommendation of the former year in regard to the 
manner in which offensive measures should be prosecuted. 
It had been suggested in many quarters, that it would 
be advisable to withdraw the American troops to a de- 
fensive line, which should be occupied and held until 
}Jexico sued for peace. 

Mr. Polk was utterly opposed to this course, and ap- 
proved of a decidedly active policy. " With the views I 
entertain," said he, " I cannot favor the policy which 
has been suggested, either to withdraAV our army alto- 
gether, or to retire to a designated line, and simply hold 
and defend it. To withdraw our army altogether from 
the conquests they have made by deeds of unparalleled 
bravery, and at the expense of so much blood and treas- 
ure, in a just war on our part, and one which, by the act 
of the enemy, we could not honorably have avoided, 
Avould be to degrade the nation in its own estimation and 
in that of the world. To retire to a line, and simply 
hold and defend it, would not terminate the war. On 
the contrary, it would encourage Mexico to persevere, 
and tend to protract it indefinitely. 

" It is not to be expected that Mexico, after refusing to 



296 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

establish such a line as a permanent boundary, when our 
victorious army are in possession of her capital, and in 
the heart of her country, would permit us to hold it Avith- 
out resistance. That she would continue the war, and 
in the most harassing and annoying forms, there can be 
no doubt. A border warfare of the most savage charac- 
ter, extending over a long line, would be unceasingly 
waged. It would require a large army to be kept con- 
stantly in the field, stationed at posts and garrisons along 
such a line, to protect and defend it. The enemy, re- 
lieved from the pressure of our arms on his coasts and in 
the populous parts of the interior, would direct his atten- 
tion to this line, and, selecting an isolated post for attack, 
would concentrate his forces upon it. This would be a 
condition of aifairs Avhich the Mexicans, pursuing their 
favorite system of guerilla warfare, would probably prefer 
to any other. Were we to assume a defensive attitude 
on such a line, all the advantages of such a state of war 
would be on the side of the enemy. We could levy no 
contributions upon him, or in any other way make him 
feel the pressure of the war, but must remain inactive 
and await his approach, being in constant uncertainty at 
what point on the line, or at what time, he might make 
an assault. 

" He may assemble and organize an overwhelming 
force in the interior, on his own side of the line, and, 
concealing his purpose, make a sudden assault upon some 
one of our posts so distant from any otb.er as to prevent 
the possibility of timely succor oi- reinforcements ; and in 
this way our gallant army would be exposed to the dan- 
ger of being cut off in detail ; or if, by their unequalled 



1845-9.] VIEWS ox THE DEFENSIVE POLICY. 297 

bravery and prowess, eveiywliere exhibited during this 
war, thej should repulse the enemy, their numbers sta- 
tioned at any one post may be too small to pursue him. 
If the enemy be repulsed in one attack, he Avould have 
nothing to do but to retreat to his own side of the line, 
and, being in no fear of a pursuing array, may reinforce 
himself at leisure,/or another attack on the same or some 
other post. He may, too, cross the line betAveen our 
posts, make rapid incursions into the country which we 
hold, murder the inhabitants, commit depredations on 
them, and then retreat to tho interior before a sufficient 
force can be concentrated to pursue him. Such would 
probably be the harassing character of a mere defensive 
war on our part. 

"If our forces, when attacked, or threatened with 
attack, be permitted to cross the line, drive back the 
enemy and conquer him, this would be again to invade 
the enemy's country, after having lost all the advantages 
of the conquests we have already made, by having volun- 
tai% abandoned them. To hold such a line successfully 
and in security, it is far from being certain that it would 
not require as large an army as would be necessary to 
hold all the conquests we have already made, and to con- 
tinue the prosecution of the war in the heart of the ene- 
my's country. It is also far from being certain that the 
expenses of the war would be diminished by such a policy. 
I am persuaded that the best means of vindicating the 
national honor and interest, and of bringing the war to 
an honorable close, will be .to prosecute it witli increased 
energy and power in the vital parts of the enemy's coun- 
try. In my annual message to Congress of December 
13* 



298 JAMES K^'ox POLK. [1845-9. 

last, I declared that ' the war has not been waged with a 
view to conquest ; but having been commenced by Mex- 
ico, it has been carried into the enemy's country, arid 
will be vigorously prosecuted there, with a view to obtain 
an honorable peace, and thereby secure ample indemnity 
for the expenses of the war, as well as to our much in- 
jured citizens, who hold pecuniary demands against 
Mexico.' Such, in my judgment, continues to be our 
true policy — indeed, the only policy which will probably 
secure a permanent peace. 

" It has never been contemplated by me, as an object 
of the war, to make a permanent conquest of the repub- 
lic of ]Mexico, or to annihilate her separate existence as 
an independent nation. On the contrary, it has ever 
been my desire that she should maintain her nationality, 
and, under a good government adapted to her condition, 
be a free, independent, and prosperous republic. The 
United States were the first among the nations to recog- 
nize her independence, and have always desired to be on 
terms of amity and good neighborhood with her. This 
she would not suffer. By her own conduct we have been 
compelled to engage in the present war. In its pi'osecu- 
tion, we seek not her overthrow as a nation ; but, in vin- 
dicating our national honor, we seek to obtain redress 
for the wrongs she has done us, and indemnity for our 
just demands against her. We demand an honorable 
peace ; and that peace must bring with it indemnity for 
the past, and security for the future. Hitherto Mexico 
has refused all accommodation by which such a peace 
could be obtained. Whilst our armies have advanced 
from victory to victory, from the commencement of the 



1845-9.] OREGON TERRITORIAL BILL. 299 

war, it has always been witli the olive-branch of peace in 
their hands ; and it has been in the power of Mexico, at 
every step, to arrest hostilities by accepting it." 

The President again earnestly recommended the in- 
crease of the army. He advised that temporary terri- 
torial governments should be established in California 
and New Mexico, and that a permanent government 
should be provided for Oregon, 

But few acts of general interest were passed. A great 
part of the session was taken up with the discussion of the 
war measures, which were rendered unnecessary by the 
conclusion of the treaty of peace. A loan of sixteen mil- 
lions of dollars, however, was authorized. When the 
war bills were under consideration, a warm collateral 
debate sprung up in the House, upon the refusal to com- 
municate to that body all the diplomatic correspondence 
with Mr. Slidell. The President thought the public inter- 
est required that the correspondence should not be made 
■public, and he declined acceding to the request, in con- "^ 
formity to the example of Washington with respect to 
the Jay treaty in 1796, and that of John Quincy Adams 
in relation to\he Panama mission.* 

In pursuance of the recommendation of the President, 
a bill providing a territorial government for Oregon was 
introduced at an early period of the session. In the 
House, the Wilmot Proviso was again brought forward, 
and attached to this bill, the supporters and advocates of 
that measure adhering to it with singular pertinacity, 
though so often defeated in the attainment of their object. 
The Senate for a long time refused to permit the passage 

* Special Message of President Polk, January 12, 1848. 



300 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

of the bill, with this provision forming part of it. At 
leno-th a sufficient number of senators yielded to the ne- 
cessitj which, as Mr. Polk also thought, required that 
the territorial government should be organized without 
delay. The bill was then passed, with the Wilmot Pro- 
viso attached. 

Mr. Polk did not regard this Proviso as a violation of 
the constitution, and he therefore affixed his name to the 
bill. But he was opposed to the Proviso, and agitation 
of the slavery question, and deeply lamented that section- 
al feelings and animosities sliould be so needlessly en- 
kindled and aroused. In his message to the same Con- 
gress, at the succeeding session, ho referred to this ques- 
tion, as efforts had been made at the session of 18-1:7-8 
to incorporate the Proviso in territorial bills for New 
Mexico and California by Avhich they had been defeated, 
and expressed his views in clear and forcible terms. " It 
rs our solemn duty," he said, "to provide, with the least 
practicable delay, for Ncav Mexico and California, regu- 
larly organized territorial governments. The causes of 
the failure to do this at the last session, aye well known, 
and deeply to be regretted. With the opening prospects 
of increased prosperity and national greatness which the 
acquisition of these rich and extensive territorial posses- 
sions affiards, how irrational it would be to forego or to re- 
ject these advantages, by the agitation of a domestic 
question which is coeval with the existence of our govern- 
ment itself, and to endanger by internal strifes, geo- 
graphical divisions, and heated contests for political pow- 
er, or for any other cause, the harmony of the glorious 
Union of our confederated States : that Union which binds 



1845-9. J THE SLAVERY QUESTION. 301 

US together as one people, and which for sixty years has 
been our shield and protection against every dant^er. In 
the eyes of the world and of posterity, how'trivial and in- 
significant will be all our internal divisions and struggles 
compared with the preservation of tliis Union of the States 
in all its vigor and with all its countless blessings ! No 
patriot would foment and excite geographical and section- 
al divisions. No lover of his country would deliberately 
calculate the value of the Union. 

" Future generations would look in amazement upon 
such a course. Other nations at the present day would 
look upon it with astonishment ; nnd such of them as de- 
sire to maintain and perpetuate thrones and monarchical 
or aristocratical principles, will view it with exultation 
and delight, because in it they will see the elements of 
faction, which they hope must ultimately overturn our 
system. Ours is the great example of a prosperous and 
free self-governed republic, commanding the admiration 
and the imitation of all the lovers of freedom throughout 
the world. How solemn, therefore, is the duty, how im- 
pressive the call upon us and upon all parts of our coun- 
try, to cultivate a patriotic spirit of harmony, of good 
fellowship, of compromise and mutual concession, in the 
administration of the incomparable system of government 
formed by our fathers in the midst of almost insuperable 
difficulties, and transmitted to us with the injunction that 
we should enjoy its blessings and hand it down unimpair- 
ed to those who may come after us ! 

" In view of the high and responsible duties which we 
owe to ourselves and to mankind, I trust you may be able, 
at the present session, to approach the adjustment of the 



302 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

onlj domestic question which seriously threatens, or pro- 
bably ever can threaten, to disturb the harmony and 
successful operation of our system. The immensely val- 
uable possessions of New Mexico and California are al- 
ready inhabited by a considerable population. Attracted 
by their great fertility, their mineral wealth, their com- 
mercial advantages and the salubrity of the climate, emi- 
grants from the older States, in great numbers, are al- 
ready preparing to seek new homes in these inviting re- 
gions. Shall the dissimilarity of the domestic institutions 
in the different States prevent us from providing for them 
suitable governments? These institutions existed at the 
adoption of the constitution, but the obstacles which they 
interposed were overcome by that spirit of compromise 
which is now invoked. In a conflict of opinions or of in- 
terests, real or imaginary, between different sections of 
our country, neither can justly demand all which it might 
desire to obtain. Each, in the true spirit of our institu- 
tions, should concede somethino- to the other. 

" Our gallant forces in the Mexican war, by whose 
patriotism and unparalleled deeds of arms we obtained 
these possessions as an indemnity for our. just demands 
against Mexico, were composed of citizens who belonged 
to no one State or section of the Union. They were men 
from slaveholding and non-slaveholding States, from the 
North and the South, from the East and the West. They 
were all companions in arms and fellow-citizens" of the 
same common country, engaged in ■ the same common 
cause. When prosecuting that war, they were brethren 
and friends, and shared alike with each other common 
toils, dangers and sufferings. Now, when their work is 



1845-9.J THE SLAVERY QUESTION. 303 

ended, when peace is restored, and they return again to 
tlieir homes, put off the habiliments of war, take their 
places in society, and resume their pursuits in civil life, 
surely a spirit of harmony and concession, and of equal 
reo-ai'd for the rights of all and of all sections of the 
Union ought to prevail in providing governments for the 
acquired territories — the fruits of their common service. 
The whole people of the United States and of every State 
contributed to defray the expenses of that war, and it 
would not be just for any one section to exclude another 
from all participation in the acquired territory. This 
would not be in consonance with the just system of gov- 
ernment which the framers of the constitution adopted. 

" The question is believed to be rather abstract than 
practical, whether slavery ever can or would exist in any 
portion of the acquired territory, even if it were left to 
the option of the slaveholding States themselves. From 
the nature of the climate and productions, in much the 
larger portion of it, it is certain it could never exist ; and 
in the remainder, the probabilities are it Avould not. But 
however this may be, the question, involving, as it does, 
a principle of equality of rights of the separate and sev- 
eral States, as equal co-partners in the confederacy, 
should not be disregarded. 

" In organizing governments over these Territories, no 
duty imposed on Congress by the constitution requires 
that they should legislate on the subject of slavery, while 
their power to do so is not only seriously questioned, 
but denied by many of the soundest expounders of that 
instrument. Whether Congress shall legislate or not, 
the people of the acquired Territories, when assembled 



304 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

in convention to form State constitutions, will possess the 
sole and exclusive power to determine for themselves 
whether slavery shall or shall not exist within their limits. 
If Congress shall ahstain from interfering with the ques- 
tion, the people of these Territories will be left free to 
adjust it as thej may think proper when they apply for 
admission as States into the Union. No enactment of 
Congress could restrain the people of any of the sovereign 
States of the Union, old or new, north or south, slave- 
holding or non-slaveholding, from determining the char- 
acter of their own domestic institutions as they may deem 
wise and proper. Any and all the States possess this 
right, and Congress cannot deprive them of it. The 
people of Georgia might, if they chose, so alter their con- 
stitution as to abolish slavery within its limits ; and the 
people of Vermont miglit so alter their constitution as to 
admit slavery within its limits. Both States would 
possess the right ; though, as all know, it is not probable 
that either would exert it. 

" It is fortunate for the peace and harmony of the Union 
that this question is in its nature temporary, and can 
only continue for the brief period which will intervene 
before California and New Mexico may be admitted as 
States into the Union. From the tide of population now 
flowing into them, it is highly probable that this will soon 
occur. Considering the several States and the citizens of 
the several States as equals, and entitled to equal rights 
■under the constitution, if this were an original question, 
it might well be insisted on that the principle of non- 
interference is the true doctrine, and that Congress could 
not, in the absence of any express grant of power, inter- 



1845-9. j THE EVIL AND THE REMEDY. 305 

fere with their relative rights. Upon a great emergency, 
however, and under menacing dangers to the Union, the 
Missouri compromise line in respect to slavery was 
adopted. The same line was extended further west in 
the acquisition of Texas. After an acquiescence of nearly 
thirty years in the principle of compromise recognized 
and established by these acts, and to avoid the danger to 
the Union which might follow if it were now disregarded, 
I have heretofore expressed the opinion that that line of 
compromise should be extended on the parallel of thirty- 
six degrees thirty minutes from the western boundary of 
Texas, where it now terminates, to the Pacific Ocean. 
This is the middle ground of compi'omise, upon which 
the different sections of the Union may meet, as they 
have heretofore met. If this be done, it is confidently 
believed a large majority of the people of every section 
of the country, however widely their abstract opinions on 
the subject of slavery may differ, would cheerfully and 
patriotically acquiesce in it, and peace and harmony 
would again fill our borders. 

" The restriction north of the line was only yielded to 
in the case of Missouri and Texas upon a principle of 
compromise, made necessary for the sake of preserving 
the harmony, and possibly the existence of the Union. 
It was upon these considerations that at the close of your 
last session, I gave my sanction to the principle of the 
Missouri compromise line, by approving and signing the 
bill to establish ' the Territorial government of Oregon.' 
From a sincere desire to preserve the harmony of the 
Union, and in deference for the acts of my predecessors, 
I felt constrained to yield my acquiescence to the extent 



306 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

to which they had gone in compromising this dehcate and 
dangerous question. But if Congress shall noAV reverse 
the decision by which the Missouri compromise was 
effected, and shall propose to extend the restriction over 
the whole territory, south as well as north of the parallel 
of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes, it will cease to be a 
compromise, and must be regarded as an original ques- 
tion. If Congress, instead of observing the course of non- 
interference, leaving the adoption of their own domestic 
institutions to the people who may inhabit these Territo- 
tories ; or if, instead of extending the Missouri compro- 
mise line to the Pacific, shall prefer to submit the legal 
and constitutional questions which may arise to the deci- 
sion of the judicial tribunals, as was proposed in a bill 
which passed the Senate at your last session, an adjust- 
ment may be effected in this mode. If the whole subject 
be referred to the judiciary, all parts of the Union should 
cheerfully acquiesce in the . final decision of the tribunal 
created by the constitution for the settlement of all ques- 
tions which may arise under the constitution, treaties, 
and laws of the United States. Congress is earnestly 
invoked, for the sake of the Union, its harmony, and our 
continued prosperity as a nation, to adjust at its present 
session this, the only dangerous question Avhich lies in 
our path — if not in some one of the modes suggested, in 
some other which may be satisfactory.'' 

The national democratic convention assembled at Bal- 
timore, in May, 1848, to nominate a candidate to succeed 
Mr. Polk in the chair of state. In compliance with the 
•determination expressed at the time of his acceptance of 
the presidential nomination in 1844, Mr. Polk declined 



1845-9. j THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 307 

permitting his name to be again brought forward as a 
candidate, in an appropriate letter, addressed to a mem- 
ber of the convention from his own state. 

Washington City, May 19, 184S. 

Dear Sir — From speculations which have appeared in 
some of the public journals, and from frequent inquiries 
which have been made of me, by many political friends, some 
of them delegates to the Democratic National Convention, . 
which will assemble at Baltimore on the 2 2d instant, I am 
induced to suppose that it may be the desire of some of my 
friends to propose my i-enomination, as the candidate of the 
Democratic party, for the office of President of the United 
States. Should you ascertain that such is the intention of 
any of the delegates, I desire, through you, to communicate 
to the Convention that I am not a candidate for the nomina- 
tion, and that any use of my name with that view, which 
may be contemplated, is without any agency or desire on ray 
part. 

The purpose declared in my letter of the 12th of June, 
1844, in accepting the nomination tendered tp me by the 
Democratic National Convention of that year, remains un- 
changed : and to relieve the Convention from any possible 
embarrassment which " the suggestion of my name might 
produce in making a free selection of a successor who may be 
best calculated to give effect to their will, and guard all the in- 
terests of our beloved country," I deem it proper to reiterate 
the sentiments contained in that letter. Since my election, I 
have often expressed the sincere desire, which I still feel, to 
retire to private life at the close of my present term. 

I entertain the confident hope and belief that my democratic 
friends of the convention will unite in the harmonious nom- 
ination of some citizen to succeed me, who, if elected, will firm- 
ly maintain and carry out the great pohtical principles intro- 
duced in the resolutions adopted by the Democratic National 



308 JAMJSS KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

Convention in 1844 — principles which it has been the earnest 
endeavor and the constant aim of my administration to pre- 
sei-ve and pursue — and iipo-n the observance of which, in my 
opinion, mainly depend the prosperity and permanent welfare 
of om- country. 

If, on reviewuig the history of my administration, and the 
remarkable events, foieign and domestic, which have attend- 
ed it, it shall be the judgment of my countrymen that I have 
adhered to these principles and faithfully performed my dut}^ 
the measure of my ambition is full, and I am deeply compen- 
sated for all tlie labors, cares, and anxieties, which are insep- 
arable from the high station which I hare been called to fill. 

T shall ever cherish sentiments of deep gratitude to my 
fellow-citizens for the confidence they reposed in me, in ele- 
vating me to the most distinguished and responsible public- 
trust on earth. 

It is scarcely necessary that I should add, that it Avill be 
no less my duty than it will be my sincere pleasure, as a cit- 
izen, to unite with my democratic friends in the support of 
the nominees of the con\ention, for the offices of President 
and Vice-President of the United States. With great respect, 

I am your obedient servant, 

J.uiES K. Polk. 
To Dr. J. G. M. Kamsev. 

There Avere two sets of delegates from the State of 
New York, claiming seats in the Convention. That bodj'- 
refused to decide between them, and admitted both del- 
egations. Not content Avith this determination of the 
question, one of the delegations, who favored the incor- 
})oration of the Wilraot Proviso into the territorial bills, 
retired from the convention ; they afterward united witli 
a portion of the whigs, and the great body of the abo- 
litionists, and nominated and supported Mr. Van Buren 
for President, and Charles F. Adams, of Massachusetts;^ 



1845-9.] LAST MESSAGE. 309 

for Vice-President. This disaffection extended' through 
most of the northern States, whereby the democratic 
party lost Pennsylvania and New York, but gained the 
Statu of Ohio. General Cass, the nominee of the Balti- 
more Convention, was defeated by the whig candidate, 
Genei'ai Zachary Taylor, whose popularity, acquired by 
means oF the very war which his supporters condemned, 
elevated him to the presidential chair, although the elec- 
tions for members of Congress resulted in the choice of a 
majority unfriendly to his administration. 

Congress assembled for the last time during the ad- 
ministration of Mr. Polk, on the 4th day of December, 
1848. The most important subject then agitating the 
public mind, was that growing out of the Wilmot Proviso, 
and hence the opinions of Mr. Polk upon this subject, 
which h.ave been before presented, were made known in 
his annual message. His vetoes, too, had been attacked, 
in some of the northern and western States, with great 
asperit}^, and an effort to amend the constitution, so as 
to deprive the executive of this power, was said to be in 
contemplation. He therefore availed himself of the oc- 
casion to defend and vindicate his course, and to express 
his views in opposition to the amendment of the constitu- 
tion, in the following terms : — 

" It is not doubted, tliat if this whole train of measures, [a 
high protective tariff, a national bank, etc.,] designed to take 
wealth from the many, and bestow it upon tlie few, were to pre- 
vail, the effect Avould be to change the entire character of the 
government. Only one danger remains. It is the seductions of 
that blanch of the system, which consists in internal improve- 
ments, holding out, as it does, inducements to the people of 



SIO JAMES KNOX .^LK. [1845-9. 

particular sections and localities to embark the government in 
them -without stopping to calculate the inevitable conse- 
quences. This brancli of the system is so intimately com- 
bined and linked with the others, that as surely as an eft'ect 
is produced by an adequate cause, if it be resuscitated and 
revived, and firmly established, it requires no sagacity to fore- 
see that it will necessarily and speedily draw after it the 
reestabhshraent of a national bank, the revival of a protective 
tariff, the distribution of the land money, and not only the 
postponement to the distant future of the payment of the 
present national debt, but its annual increase. 

I entertain the solemn conviction, that if the internal im- 
provement branch of the " American system" be not firmly 
resisted at this time, the whole series of measures composing 
it will be speedily reestablished, and the country be thrown 
back from its present high state of prosperity, which the exist- 
ing policy has produced, and be destined again to witness all 
the evils, commercial revulsions, depression of prices, and 
pecuniary embarrassments, through which we have passed 
during the last twenty-five years. 

To guard against consequences so ruinous, is an object 
of hi'^'-h national importance, involving in my judgment the 
continued prosperity of the country. 

I have felt it to be an imperative obligation to withhold 
my constitutional sanction from two bills which had passed 
the two houses of Congress, involving the principle of the 
internal improvement branch of the " American system," and 
conflicting in their provisions with the views here expressed. 

This power conferred upon the President by the' constitu- 
tion, I have on three occasions, during my administration of 
the executive department of the government, deemed it my 
duty to exercise ; and on this last occasion of making to Con- 
gress an annual communication " of the state of the Union," 
it is not deemed inappropriate to review the principles and 
considerations which have governed my action. I deemed 



1845-9. j LAST MESSAGE. 311 

this the more necessary, because, after the lapse of nearly sixty 
years since the adoption of the constitution, the propriety of 
the exercise of this undoubted constitutional power by the 
President, has for the first time been drawn seriously in ques- 
tion by a portion of my fellow-citizens. 

The constitution provides "that "every bill which shall have 
passed the House of . Representatives and the Senate, shall, 
before it become a laAv, be presented to the President of the 
United States : if he approve he shall sign it, but if not, he 
shall return it with his objections, to that house in which it 
shall have originated, who sliall enter the objections at laro-e 
on their journal and proceed to reconsider it." 

The preservation of the constitution from infraction is tlie 
President's highest duty. He is bound to discharge that duty, 
at whatever hazard of incurring the displeasure of tliose who 
may differ with him in opinion. He is bound to discharo-e 
it, as well by his obligations to tlie people who have clothed 
him with his exalted trust, as by his oath of office, whicli lie 
may not disregard. Nor are the obligations of the President 
in any deg;-ee lessened bv the prevalence of views different 
from his own in one or both lunises of Congress. It is not 
alone hasty and incoiisid<'rate legislation that he is required 
to check ; but if at any time Congress shall, after apparently 
full deliberation, resolve on measures whicli he deems sub- 
versive of the constitution, or of the vital interests of the 
country, it is his solemn duty to stand in the bi-each and i-e- 
sist them. The President is bound to appiove, or disapprove, 
every bill which passes Congress and is pi-esented t6 h.im for 
his signature. The constitution makes this his duty, and he 
cannot escape it if he would. He lu;s no election. In de- 
ciding upon any bill presented to him, he must exercise his 
own best judgment. If he cannot approve, the constitution 
commands him to i-eturn the bill to the House in which it 
originated, with his objections ; and if he fail to do this with- 
in ten days, (Sunday excepted,) it sliall become a law without 



312 -JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

liis sif^nature. Right or wrong, lie may be overruled by a 
vote of two-thirds of each Mouse; and, in that event, the bill be- 
comes a law without his sanction. If his objections be not thus 
overruled, tlie subject is only postponed, and is referred to 
the States and the people for their consideration and decision. 

The President's pov/er is negatiA-e raerely, and not affirma- 
tive. He can enact no law. The only effect, therefore, of 
liis withholding his approval of a bill passed by Congress, is 
to sutler the existing laws to I'emain unchanged, and the de- 
lay occasioned is only that required to enable the States and 
the people to consider and act upon the subject in the elec- 
tion of agents who will carry out tlieir wislies and instructions. 
Any attempt to coerce the President to yield his sanction to 
measures whicli he cannot approve, would be a violation of 
the spirit of the conslitiition, palpable and flagrant; and if 
successfid, would break down the independence of the exec- 
utive department, and make the 1 'resident, elected by the 
people, and cloth.ed by the constitu:ion Avith power to defend 
their rights, the instrument of a ii^ijority of Congress. A 
surrender, on his part, of the powe ■ with whicli the constitu- 
tion has invested his oiWc.c, would e feet a practical alteration 
of that iusti-umeiit, witiioat reso;ti.ig to the prescribed pro- 
cess of amendinent. 

With the motives or considerations which may induce Con- 
gress to pass any bill, the President can have nothing to do. 
lie must presume them to be as pure as his own, and look 
onlv to the oraclical cif^'ct of their measures when compared 
with tlie con.stitiition or \h". public good. 

But it has been urged by those wlio object to the exercise 
of this undoubted conslitutional power, that it assails the rep- 
resentative principle and the capacity of the people to govern 
themselves ; that there is greater safe; v in a numerous repre- 
sentative body than in the single Executive created by the 
constitution, and that the executive vt-io is a "one-man pow- 
er," despotic in its character. To expose the fallacy of this 



1845-9.J LAST MESSAGE. 31g 

objection, it is only necessary to consider tlie frame and true 
character of our system. Ours is not a consolidated empire, 
but a confederated Union. The States, befoi-e the adoption 
of the constitution, were cooi-dinate, coequal, and separate in- 
dependent sovereignties, and by its adoption they did not lose 
that character. They clothed the federal government with 
certain powers, and reserved all others, including their own 
sovereignty, to themselves. They guarded their own rio-hts 
as States and the rights of the people, by the very limitations 
which they incorporated into the federal constitution, whereby 
the different departments of the general government were 
checks upon each other. That the majority should govern, 
is a general principle, controverted by none ; but they must 
govern according to the constitution, and not according to an 
undefined and unrestrained discretion, whereby they may op- 
press the minority. 

The people of the United States are not blind to the fact 
that they may be temporaiily misled, and that their represen- 
tatives, legislative and executive, may be mistaken or influ- 
enced in their action by improper motives. They have, there- 
fore, interposed between themselves and the laws which may 
be passed by -their public agents, various representations ; 
such as assemblies, senates, and governoi-s in their several 
States ; a House of Representatives, a Senate, and a Presi- 
dent of the United States. The people can by their own di- 
rect agency make no law ; nor can the House of Representa- 
tives, immediately elected by them ; nor can the Senate ; nor 
can both together, without the concurrence of the President, 
or a vote of two-thirds of both houses. 

Happily for themselves, the people, in framing our admira- 
ble system of government, were conscious of the infirmities of 
their representatives ; and, in delegating to them the power 
of legislation, they have fenced them around with checks, to 
guard against the effects of hasty action, of error, of combina- 
tion, and of possible corruption. Error, selfishness and faction 
14 



314 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

have often souglit to rend asunder ibis web of cbecks, and 
subject the government to the control of fanatic and sinister 
influences ; but these efforts have only satisfied the people of 
the wisdom of the checks which they have imposed, and of 
the necessity of preserving them unimpaired. 

The true tbeory of our system is not to govern by the acts 
or decrees of any one set of representatives. The constitu- 
tion interposes checks upon all branches of the government, 
in order to give time for error to be corrected and delusion to 
pass away ; but if the people settle down into a firm convic- 
tion diflferent from that of their representatives, they give ef- 
fect to their opinions by changing their public servants. The 
checks which tlie people imposed on their public servants in 
the adoption of the constitution, are the best evidence of their 
capacity for self-government. They know that the men 
whom they elect to public stations are of like infirmities and 
passions with themselves, and not to be trusted without being 
restricted by coordinate authorities and constitutional limita- 
tions. Who that has witnessed the legislation of Congress 
for the last thirty years will say that he knows of no instance 
in which measures not demanded by the public good have 
teen carried? Who will deny that in the State govern- 
ments, by combinations of individuals and sections, in deroga- 
tion of the general interest, banks have been chartered, sys- 
tems of internal improvement adopted, and debts entailed 
upon the people, repressing their growth, and impairing their 
energies for years to come ? 

After so much experience, it cannot be said that absolute 
unchecked power is safe in the hands of any one set of rep- 
resentatives, or that the capacity of the people for self-gov- 
ernment, which is admitted in its broadest extent, is a conclu- 
sive argument to prove the prudence, wisdom, and integrity 
of their representatives. 

The people, by the constitution, have commanded the Presi- 
dent, as much as they have commanded the legislative branch 



1845-9. I LAST MESSAGE. 315 

of the government, to execute their will. They have said" to 
him in the constitution, which they require he shall take a 
Bolemn oath to support, that if Congress pass any bill which 
he cannot approve, " he shall return it to the House in which 
it originated, with his objections." In withholding from it 
bis approval and signature, he is executing the will of the 
people constitutionally expressed, as much as the Congress 
that passed it. No bill is presumed to be in accordance with 
the popular will until it shall have passed through all the 
branches of the government required by the constitution to 
make it a law. *A bill which passes the House of Represen- 
tatives may be rejected by the Senate ; and so a bill passed 
by the Senate may be rejected by the House. In each case, 
the respective houses exercise the veto power on the other. 

Congress, and each House of Congress, hold under the con- 
stitution a check upon the President, and he, by the power 
of the qualified veto, a check upon Congress. When the 
President recommends measures to Congress, he avows, in 
the most solemn form, his opinions, gives his voice in their 
favor, and pledges himself in advance to approve them if 
passed by Congress. If he acts without due consideration, 
or has been influenced by improper or corrupt motives — or 
if, from any other cause, Congress, or either House of Con- 
gress, shall differ with him in opinion, they exercise their veto 
upon his recommendations, and reject them ; and there is no 
appeal from their decision, but to the people at the ballot- 
box. These are proper checks upon the Executive wisely in- 
terposed by the constitution. None will be found to object 
to them, or to wish them removed. It is equally important 
that the constitutional checks of the Executive upon the leo-is- 
lative branch should be preserved. 

If it be said that the representatives in the popular branch 
of Congress are chosen directly by the people, it is answered, 
the people elect the President. If both houses represent the 
States and the people, so does the President. The President 



S16 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

represents in the executive department the whole people of 
the United States, as each member of the legislative depart- 
ment represents portions of .them. 

The doctrines ol restriction upon legislative and executive 
power, while a well-settled public opinion is enabled within a 
reasonable time to accomplish its ends, has made our country 
what it is, and has opened to us a career of glory and happi- 
ness to which all other nations have been strangers. 

In the exercise of the power of the veto, the President is 
responsible not only to an enliglitened public opinion, but to 
the people of the whole Union, wlio elected him, as the rep- 
resentatives in the legislative branches, Avho differ with him 
in opinion, are responsible to the people of particular States, 
or districts, who compose tlieir respective constituencies. To 
deny to the President the exercise of this power, would be to 
repeal that provision of the constitution which confers it upon 
him. To charge that its exercise unduly controls the legisla- 
tive will, is to complain of the constitution itself. 

If the presidential veto be objected to upon the ground 
that it checks and thwarts the public will, upon the same 
principle the equality of representation of the States in tlie 
Senate should be stricken out of the constitution. The vote 
of a Senator from Delaware has equal weight in deciding 
upon the most important measures with a vote of a Senator 
from New York ; and yet the one represents a State contain- 
ing, according to the existing apportionment of representa- 
tives in the House of Representatives, but one thirty-fourth 
part of the population of the other. By the constitutional 
composition of the Senate, a majority of that body from the 
smaller States represents less than one-fourth of the people 
of the Union. There are thirty States ; and, under the exist- 
ing apportionment of representatives, there are two hundred 
and thirty members in the House of Representatives. Six- 
teen of the smaller States are represented in that House by 
but fifty members ; and yet the Senators from these States 



1845-9. J LAST MESSAGE. 317 

constitute a majority of the Senate. So that the President 
may recommend a measure to Congress, and it may receive 
the sanction and approval of more than three-fourths of the 
House of Representatives, and of all the senators from the 
large States, containing more than three-fourths of the whole 
population of the United States ; and yet the measure may 
be defeated by tlie voles of the Senators from the smaller 
States. None, it is presumed, can be found ready to change 
the organization of tlie Senate on this account, or to strike 
that body practically out of existence, by requiring that its 
action shall be conformed to tlie will of the more numerous 
branch. 

Upon the same principle tliat the veto of the President 
should be practically abolished, the power of the Vice-Presi- 
dent to give the casting vote upon an equal di\ision of the 
Senate should be abolished also. Ihe Vice-President exer- 
cises the veto power as effectually by rejecting a bill by his 
casting vote, as the President does by refusing to approve 
and sign it. iThis power has been exercised by the Vice- 
President in a few instances, the most important of which was 
the rejection of the bill to recharter the Bank of the United 
States in 1811. It may happen that a bill may be passed by 
a large majority of the House of Representatives, and may 
be supported by the senators from the larger. States, and the 
Vice-President may reject it by giving his vote with the sena- 
tors from the smaller States ; and yet none, it is presumed, 
are prepared to deny to him the exercise of this power under 
the constitution. 

But it is, in point of fact, untrue that an act passed by 
Congress is conclusive evidence that it is an emanation of the 
popular will. ' A majority of the whole number elected to 
each house of Congress constitutes a quorum, and a majority 
of that quorum is competent to pass laws. It might happen 
that a quorum of the House of Representatives, consistino- of 
a single member more than half of the wlioie number elected 



818 JAMES KNOX POLK. • [1845-9 

to that house, might pass a bill by a majority of a single 
vote, and in that case a fraction more than one-fourtli of the 
people of the United States, would be represented by those 
who voted for it. It might happen that the same bill might 
be passed by a majority of one, of a quorum of a Senate, 
composed of senators from the fifteen smaller States, and a 
single senator from a sixteenth State, and if the senators vot- 
ing for it happened to be from the eight of the smallest of 
these States, it would be passed by the votes of senators from 
States having but fourteen representatives in the House of 
Representatives, and containing less than one-sixteenth of the 
whole population of the United States. This extreme case is 
stated to illustrate tlie fact, that the mere passage of a bill bv 
Congress is no conclusive evidence that tliose who passed it 
represent the majority of the people of the United States, or 
truly reflect their will. If such an extreme case is not likely 
to happen, cases that approximate it are of constant occur- 
rence. It is believed that not a single law has been passed 
since the adoption of the constitution, upon which all the 
members elected to both houses have been present and voted. 
Many of the most important acts which have passed Congress 
have been carried by a close vote in thin houses. Many in- 
stances of this might be given. Indeed, our experience proves 
that many of the most important acts of C ongress are post- 
poned to the last davs, and often the last hours of a session, 
when they are disposed of in haste, and by houses but little 
exceeding the number necessary to form a quorum. 

Besides, in most of the States the members of the House 
of Representatives are chosen by pluralities, and not by ma- 
jorities of all the voters in their respective districts ; and it 
may happen that a majority of that House may be returned 
bv a less aggregate vote of the people than that received by 
minority. 

If the principle insisted on be sound, then the constitution 
should be so chansred that no bill shall become a law unless 



1845-9.J LAST MESSAGE. 319 

it is voted for by members representing in each House a ma- 
jorfty of the whole people of the United States. We must 
re-model our whole system, strike down and abolish not only 
the salutary checks lodged in the executive branch, but must 
strike out and abolish those lodged in the Senate also, and 
thus practically invest the whole power of the government in 
a majority or a single assembly — a majority uncontrolled and 
:Tl)''Olute, and which may become despotic. To conform to 
this doctrine of the right of majorities to rule, independent of 
the checks and limitations of the constitution, we must revo- 
lutionize our whold sy:^tf'm. We must destroy the constitu- 
tional compact by wliich the several States agreed to form a 
federal Union, and rush into consolidation, which must end in 
monarchv or despotism. No one advocates such a proposi- 
tion ; and yet the doctrine maintained, if carried out, must 
lead to this result. 

One great object of the constitution in conferring upon the 
President a qualified negative upon the legislation of Congress, 
was to protect minorities from injustice and oppression by 
majorities. The equality of their representation in the Senate, 
and the veto power of the President, ai^e the constitutional 
guaranties which the smaller States have that their rights will 
be respected. Without these guaranties, all their interests 
would be at the mercy of majorities in Congress representing 
the larger States. To the smaller and weaker States, there- 
fore, the preservation of this power, and its exercise upon 
proper occasions demanding it, is of vital importance. They, 
ratified the constitution, and entered into the Union, securing 
to themselves an equal representation with the larger States 
in the Senate ; and they agreed to be bound by all laws 
passed by Congress upon the express condition, and none 
other, that they should be approved by the President, or 
passed, his objections to the contrary notwithstanding, by a 
vote of two-thirds of both Houses. Upon this condition they 
have a right to insist, as a part of the compact to which they 
gave theu: assent. 



320 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

A bill might be passed by Congress against the will of the 
whole people of a particular State, and against the votes of 
its senators and all its representatives. However prejudicial 
it might be to the interest of such State, it would be bound 
by it if the President shall approve it, or it should be passed 
by a vote of two-thirds of both houses ; but it has a right to 
demand that the President shall exercise his constitutional 
power, and arrest it, if his judgment is against it. If he sur- 
render this power, or fail to exercise it in a mse where he 
cannot approve, it Avould make his formal approval a mere 
mockery, and would be itself a violation of the constitution, 
I and the dissenting State would become bound by a law 

which had not been passed according to the sanction of the 
constitution. 
I The objection to the exercise of tlie veto power is founded 

I upon an idea respecting the popular will which, if carried out, 

I would annihilate State sovereignty, and substitute for the 

1 present federal government a consolidation, directed by a sup- 

[ posed numerical majority. A revolution of the government 

' would be silently effected, and the States would be sub- 

jected to laws to wliich they had never given their constitu- 
tional consent. 

The Supreme Court of the United States is invested with 
' the power to declare, and has declared, acts of Congress 

' passed with the concurrence of the Senate, tlie House of Rep- 

1 presentatives, and the approval of the President, to be uncon- 

stitutional and void, and yet none, it is presumed, can be 
found, who will be disposed to strip this highest judicial trib- 
unal under the constitution of this acknowledged power — a 
I power necessary alike to its independence and the rights of 

i individuals. 

For the same reason that the Executive veto should, ac- 
cording to the doctrine maintained, be rendered nugatorj' and 
be practically expunged from the constitution, this power of 
the court should also be rendered nugatory and be expunged, 
tGCJiuse it >-oetvains the legislative and executive will, and be- 



1845-9.] LAST MESSAGE. 321 

cause the exercise of such a power by the pourt may be 
regarded as being in conliict with the capacity of the people 
to govern themselves. Indeed, there is more reason for 
striking this power of the court from the constitution than 
there is that of the qualified veto of the President ; because 
the decision of the court is final, and can never be reversed, 
even though both houses of Congress and the President should 
be unanimous in opposition to it ; whereas the veto of the 
President may be overruled by a vote of two-thirds of both 
houses of Congress, or by the people at the polls. 

It is obvious that to preserve the system established by the 
constitution, each of tlie coordinate branches of the govern- 
ment — the executive, legislative, and judicial — must be left 
in the exercise of its appropriate powers. If the executive 
of the judicial branch be deprived of powers conferred upon 
either as checks on the legislative, the preponderance of the 
latter will l^ecorae disproportionate and absorbing, and the 
others impotent for the accomplishment of the great objects 
for Vt'hich they were established. Organized as they are by 
the constitution, they work together harmoniously for the pub- 
lic good. If the executive and the judiciary shall be deprived 
of the constitutional powers invested in them, and of their due 
proportions, the equilibrium of the system must be destroyed, 
and consolidation, with the most pernicious results, must en- 
sue — a consohdation of unchecked, despotic power exercised 
by majorities of the legislative branch. 

The executive, legislative, and judicial, each constitutes a 
separate coordinate department of the government, and each 
is independent of the others. In the performance of their 
respective duties under the constitution, neither can, in its 
legitimate action, control tlie others. They each act upon 
their several responsibilities in their respective spheres ; but 
if the doctrines now maintained be correct, the executive must 
become practically subordinate to the legislative, and the ju- 
diciary must become subox-dinate to both the legislative and 
14* 



322 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

the executive ; and thus the whole power of the government 
would be merged in a single department. Whenever, if ever, 
this shall occur, our glorious system of well-regulated self- 
government will crumble into ruins — to be succeeded first 
by anarchy, and finally by monarchy or despotism. I am 
fai- from believing that this doctrine is the sentiment of the 
American people ; and during the short period which remains 
in wliich it will be my duty to" administer the executive dc- 
pai-tment, it will be my aim to maintain its independence, and 
discharge its duties, without infringing upon tlie poweis or du- 
ties of either of the other departments of the government. 

The power of the executive veto was exercised by the first 
and most illustrious of my predecessors, and by four of his 
successors who preceded me in the administration of the 
government, and, it is believed, in no instance prejudicially to 
the public interests, it has never been, and there is but lit- 
tle danger that it ever can be abused. • No President will 
ever desire, unnecessarily, to place his opinion %. opposition 
to that of Congress. He must always exercise the power 
reluctantly, and only in cases where his convictions make it a 
matter of stern duty, which he cannat escape. Indeed, there 
is more danger that the President, fi-om the repugnance he 
must always feel to come in collision with Congress, may 
fail to exercise it in cases where the preservation of the con- 
stitution from infraction, or the public good may demand it, 
than that he Avill ever exercise it unnecessarily or wantonly. 

During the period I have administered the executive de- 
partment of the government, great and important questions 
of public policy, foreign and domestic, have arisen, upon 
which it was my duty to act. It may indeed be truly snjd 
that my administration has fallen upon eventful times. I 
have felt most sensibly the weight of the high responsibilities 
devolved upon me. With no other object than the pubhc 
good, the enduring fame, and permanent prosperity of my 
counlry, I have pursued the convictions of my own best. 



f 



1845-9.] INAUGURATION OF HIS SUCCESSOR. 323 

judgment. *The impartial arbitrament of enlightened public 
opinion, present and future, will determine how far the pub- 
lic policy I have maintained, and the measures I have from 
time to time recommended, may have intended to advance or 
retard the public prosperity at home, and to elevate or de- 
press the estimate of our national character abroad. 

Invoking the blessings of the Almighty upon your deliber- 
ations at your present important session, my ardent hope is, 
that, in a spirit of harmony and concord, you may be guided 
to wise results, and such as may redound to the happiness, 
the honor, and the glory of our beloved country." 

No matters of legislation of general and permanent 
importance were definitely acted on at this session. The 
discussion of various territorial bills for New Mexico and 
California occupied nearly the whole time, but in conse- 
quence of the continued agitation of the slavery question, 
none were passed. The adjournment took place on the 
third day of March, 1849, and on the 5th instant — the 
4th happening on Sunday — General Taylor was duly 
inaugurated as the successor of Mr. Polk. The latter 
took part in the ceremonies, and rode beside General 
Taylor in the carriage that conveyed them to the capitol. 
He was, also, one of the first to congratulate him at the 
close of his inaugural address, rejoicing, meanwhile, that 
he was himself relieved from the cares and anxieties of 
public life. In the afternoon of the 5th inst, Mr. and 
Mrs. Polk took leave of their friends — many words of 
mingled regret and endearment being uttered on both 
sides — and in the evening commenced their return jour- 
ney to their home in Tennessee, by way of RichnK)nd, 
Charleston, and New Orleans. 



324 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1845-9. 

Thus ended the administration of Mr. Poll:. To say 
that it was an able one, would be but feeble praise. It 
was more important than any which had intervened be- 
tween it and the administration of Mr. Madison. It was 
full of great events. The settlement of the Ores-on 
Question, the war with Mexico, and the acquisition of 
California, will cause it to be long remembered. Ages 
hence, if the God of nations shall continue to smile upon 
our favored land, the dweller on the banks of the Missis- 
sippi, as lie gazes on the mighty current that laves his feet, 
and beholds it reaching forth, like a giant, its hundred 
arms, and gathering the produce of that noble valley mto 
its bosom, Avill bless the name of Thomas Jefferson. 
So, too, the citizen of California or Oregon, when he sees 
their harbors filled with stately argosies, richlj'-freighted 
with golden sands, or with the silks and spices of the Old 
World, will offer his tribute, dictated by a grateful heart, 
to the memory of James K. Polk. 

At home, his administration Avas well conducted. 
Though the war with Mexico was actively prosecuted for 
a period of nearly two years, the national debt was not 
largely or oppressively increased, and the pecuniary 
credit of the government was at all times maintained ; 
more than double the premiums realized in the war of 
1812, being procured for stock and treasury notes. Com- 
merce, agriculture, and every art and occupation of in- 
dustry, flourished during this period ; happiness and 
prosperity dwelt in every habitation. In the manage- 
ment of our foreign relations, ability, skill, and prudence, 
were clisplayed. Our rights were respected ; our honor 
defendea ; and our national character elevated still higher 
HI the Cbtimation of foreign governments and their people. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Return to Tennessee — Speech at Richmond — Arrival Home — Prospects for 
the Future— Vanity of Human Hopes and Expectations — His Death — 
Funeral Honors— Personal Appearance and Character — Conclusion. 

If Mr. Polk was gratified with the enthusiastic demon- 
strations of regard that attended him on his journey to 
Washington in the spring of 1845, to enter upon the du- 
ties of his administration, — he was far more sincerely 
pleased, with the kindly greetings that everywhere wel- 
comed him as he returned to his home in Tennessee. 
The one might have heen selfish, for he had then ofiice 
and patronage to hestow ; hut the other was the genuine 
homage of the heart ; a voluntary offering to the man, 
and not to the President. 

At Richmond, he was complimented with a public re- 
ception by the citizens, and the Legislature of Virginia, 
which was then in session. In reply to an eloquent ad- 
dress from the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the 
ex-President returned his hearty thanks for the high 
honor accorded to him by the legislature of a State for 
which he cherished the most profound veneration, and 
from whose political apostles he had imbibed his appre- 
ciation of the great principles of constitutional liberty. 
He was, he said, taken by surprise at the manner of his 
reception ; and to be thus received, when he had just laid 



326 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1849. 

down power, and was no longer clothed with the patron- 
age of the government, filled him with gratitude. He 
felt proud, too, that he was " no more a servant of the 
people, but had become a sovereign." He spoke, also, 
of the greatness of the country, and of the value and im- 
portance of the Union. " Preserve this union," he de- 
clared, " and the march of our country in prosperity and 
greatness will be rapid beyond comparison, and her 
ripened glory will surpass that of ancient Rome, the mis- 
tress of the world." 

At Wilmington, North Carolina, the people of his na- 
tive state came together in crowds, to welcome him. Ex- 
tensive preparations had been made for his reception, and 
in replying to the orator who addressed him, he said : 
" You remark truly, sir, that I still cherish affection for 
my native state. I receive its welcome as the blessing 
of an honored parent. North Carolina can boast of glo- 
rious reminiscences, and is entitled to rank with, or far 
above, many Avho make greater pretensions- It Avas from 
her — her counties of Mecklenburg, New Hanover, and 
Bladen, that the ncAvs of treason in the colonies first went 
to the ears of the British monarch, and here was the spirit; 
of independence first aroused." 

At Charleston, Savannah, and "New Orleans — at every 
place where he paused upon his route — welcomes and con- 
gratulations were liberally showered upon his head j and 
prayers and blessings innumerable attended him, like 
ministering angels, to the home from which he had ggno 
forth in early manhood to carve out his destiny, and to 
which he now returned, with the harvest of fame he had 
gathered. 



1845-9.] EMPLOYMENT OF HIS TIME. 327 

Previous to his return to Tennessee, Mr. Polk had 
purchased the mansion and grounds formerly belonging 
to his friend and preceptor, Mr. Grundy, and situate in , 
the heart of the city of Nashville. Here, surrounded by 
the comforts and conveniences which an ample fortune 
enabled him to procure, — in the sAveet companionship of 
his wife, of books, and of the friends whom he loved and 
esteemed, — he determined to pass the remainder of his 
days in ease and retirement, fulfilling his duty to himself 
and to the world, but not entering again into public -life. 
He had discovered, from his own experience, that an 
'"' aching heart was the price of a diadem," and he 
longed to enjoy the quiet and tranquillity which seemed 
to Avoo him with their smiles. His constitution appeared 
to be unimpaired ; a life of strict temperance, approach- 
ing to abstemiousness, seemed to promise a continuance 
of health for many years ; and nearly one-third of man's 
allotted pilgrimage was yet befor? him. 

But the hopes and expectations of man are like the 
mists of the morning, — as empty and as fleeting. No 
rank or station — no honor or reputation — no talents or 
advantages — can protect him from his destiny. 

" The statesman's fame 
Will fade, the conqueror's laurel crown grow sear ; 
Fame's loudest trump, upon the ear of Time 
Leaves but a dying echo." 

The year 1849 will not be soon forgotten in the valley 
of the Mississippi ; but the fearful ravages of the Asiatic 
ciiolera, which it witnessed, will be long remembered in 
sorrow and pain. On his way up the Mississippi from 
New Orleans, in the month of March, Mr. Polk had suf- 



328 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1849. 

fered considerably from diarrhoea ; but the use of medi- 
cine, and a proper attention to regimen, checked the 
attack, and it seemed entirely to pass off, leaving him in 
apparent good health. He was somewhat enervated, 
however, by the fatigue consequent upon his journey, and 
the acknowledgment of the kind civilities extended to 
him ; and when he arrived at Nashville, his whole system 
was enfeebled. 

" Having taken up his abode here," says one of his 
friends and neighbors, " he gave himself up to the im- 
provement of his grounds, and was seen every day about 
his dwelling, aiding and directing the workmen he had 
employed ; now overlooking a carpenter, now giving in- 
structions to a gardener, often attended by Mrs. Polk, 
whose exquisite taste constituted the element of every im- 
provement. It is not a fortnight since I saw him on his 
lawn, directing some men who were removing decay- 
ing cedars. I was struck with his erect and health- 
ful bearing, and the active energy of his manner, which 
gave promise of long life. His flowing gray locks alone 
made him appear beyond the middle-age of life. He 
seemed in full health. The next day being rainy, he re- 
mained within, and began to arrange his large library ; 
and the labor of reaching books from the floor and placing 
them on the shelves, brought on fiitigue and slight fever, 
which the next day assumed the character of disease in 
the form of chronic diarrhoea, which was with him a com- 
plaint of many years' standing, and readily induced upon 
his system by any over-exertion. 

" For the first three days, his friends felt no alarm. 
But the disease bafl^ng the skill of his physicians, Dr. 



1S49.J ILLNESS AND DEATH. 329 

Haj, his brother-in-law, and family physician for twenty 
years, was sent for from Columbia. But the skill and 
experience of this gentleman, aided by the highest medi- 
cal talent, proved of no avail. Mr. Polk continued gradu- 
ally to sink from day to day- The disease was checked 
upon him four days before his death, but his constitution 
was so weakened, that there did not remain recuperative 
energy enough in the system for healthy reaction. He 
sunk away so slowly and insensibly, that the heavy death 
respirations commenced eight hours before he died. He 
died without a struggle, simply ceasing to breathe, as 
when deep and quiet sleep falls upon a weary man. 
About half an hour preceding his death, his venerable 
mother entered the room, and kneeling by his bedside, 
offered up a beautiful prayer to the ' king of kings and 
lord of lords,' committing the soul of her son to his holy 
keeping." 

Others beside that pious mother watched for the de- 
parting of the spirit. The Avife and the brother were 
there overcome with grief. But he had already taken 
leave of those who Avere so dear, and, like Russell, he 
could say, " the bitterness of death was passed." 

The death of JNIr. Polk occurred on the 15th day of 
June, 1849, and in the 54th year of his age. The fune- 
ral ceremonies took place on the following day ; all busi- 
ness was suspended in Nashville ; and the cortege that 
accompanied his remains to their final resting place, was 
composed of almost the entire population of the city and 
the adjacent country. He was dressed in a plain suit of 
black, and a copy of the constitution of the United States, 
whioh had ever been the guide of his counsels, was 



330 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1849. 

placed at his feet. Upon the plate of his coffin was a 
simple inscription, embracing his name, and the date of 
his birth and of his decease. 

When the death of Mr. Polk was announced at Wash- 
ington, suitable honors were directed to be paid to his 
memory by all the departments of the government, and 
by the army and navy. Similar manifestations of sor- 
row and respect were witnessed in every quarter of the 
Union. 

Mr. Polk had no children. He had, however, adopted 
a son of his brother Marshall, to whom and to Mrs. 
Polk, the greater part of his property was bequeathed. 

In stature Mr. Polk was but little above the average 
height, and his form was spare. His forehead was high, 
broad, and full, and he had clear expressive eyes. His 
look was ordinarily calm and thoughtful, but the serious 
cast of his peculiar countenance, which at times appeared 
almost repulsive, was easily lighted up by the pleasant 
smile that indicated the warmth of his heart. 

He was simple and plain in all his habits. His pri- 
vate life was upright and blameless. Honesty and in- 
tegrity characterized his intercourse with his fellow-men ; 
fidelity and affection his relations to his family. In his 
friendships he was frank and sincere ; and courteous and 
affable in his disposition. He was generous and benevo- 
lent ; but his charities, like his character, were unosten- 
tatious. He was pious, too, sincerely and truly ; his 
wife was a member of the Presbyterian church, but he 
never united with any denomination, though on his dying 
bed he received the rite of baptism at the hands of a 
Methodist clergymen, an old neighbor and friend. Yet, 



1849.J PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 331 

he made no loud professions of his sentiments. " Relio-- 
ion is the very best possession in the world, and the last 
to be spoken of. It should dwell quietly in the heart, 
and rule the life ; not be hawked about as a commodity ; 
nor scoured up like a rusty buckler for protection ; nor 
be worn over the shoulders like a blanket for defence.''* 

As a statesman, he was firm in the maintenance of his 
opinions, but not-stubborn or self-willed. He possessed 
moral courage in an eminent degree, and practical good 
sense. " He was the master of himself and of his emo- 
tions." He was cautious and circumspect, prudent and 
sagacious. Not inclined to sudden innovations, he nev- 
ertheless kept pace with the progressive tendency of the 
age, and sought, so far as lay in his power, to regulate 
and control it aright. His mind was clear and compre- 
hensive, and well- balanced and well-disciplined ; the meas- 
ures which he recommended, therefore, were practical, 
and not visionary. He Avas a Jeffersonian democrat, in 
practice and in principle. He belonged to the strict con- 
struction school. He was devotedly attached to the fed- 
eral constitution, and in favor of a literal adherence to its 
provisions, at all times and under all circumstances ; for, 
as it seemed to- him, the spirit would not long remain, 
when the plain letter was disregarded. 

His style as a writer was clear and correct, possessino' 
neither redundancy nor ornament, but he was sometimes 
inclined to become diffuse, • on account of the copiousness 
of his ideas. His manner as a speaker accorded with 
the character of his audience. On the stump, or in ad- 
dressing a popular assembly, he was impassioned and en- 

* Bancroft. 



332 JAMES KNOX POLK. [1849. 

thusiastic, and every lineament of his face glowed with 
animation. But in addressing a deliberative body, his 
earnestness was tempered with gravity and dignity, and 
he won the attention, and captivated the minds, of those 
who listened to him, 

" With an eloquence, — not like those rills from a height, 
Which sparkle, and fcam, and in vapor are o'er ; 
But a current that works out its way into light. 
Through the filtering recesses of thought and of lore." 

» 

In a word, he was " an upright and virtuous citizen, 
whose life, from the cradle to the days of opening man- 
hood, from manhood to the close of his earthly career, 
had been constantly marlced with the amiable and un- 
ostentatious display of all those moral graces which' se- 
cure repose and happiness to the social circle;"* and in 
his public capacity, he illustrated the sentiment of the 
Roman historian, " Far negotiis^ neqiie supra,'"'-] — he 
was equal to his duty, and not above it ! 

There is a moral presented in the life and character of 
James K. Polk, which should not be passed .over. Born 
of humble but respectable parents, and favored by no 
adventitious circumstances, he raised himself by the force 
of his own merit, by his talents, his industry, energy, 
and perseverance, to the highest station in the land. 
And this was no idle achievement. It was something of 
which he might justly have been proud ; and others might 
take pride in imitating his example. 

Hope and Ambition — the Castor and Pollux, twin- 
sharers of immortality — these are the household gods 

* Eulogy of Hon. H. S. Foote. t Tacitus, Annal. vi. 39. 



1849.J CONCLUSION. 333 

which the young man should cherish on his hearth- 
stone. 

As in the beautiful Scandinavian myth, three weird 
sisters preserve the Ash tree from perishing, so they 
must sustain and support him. The Past is his for 
example — the Present is his for profit — and the Future 
may be his for reward I 



APPENDIX. 



SPECIAL MESSAGE 

ON 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS, 

DECEMBER 15th, 1847. 



To the House of Representatives : 

On the last day of the last session of Concn-pss, a bill, entitled " An 
act to provide for continuing certain works in the Territory of Wis- 
consin, and for other purposes,'' which had passed both Houses, was 
presented to me for my approval I entertained insuperable objections 
to its becoming a law; but tlie short period of the session which re- 
mained afforded me no sutiicient opportunity to prepare my objections, 
and coniniunicnte mem, with the bill, to the House of Representatives, 
in which it originated. For this reason the bill was retained, and I 
deem it proper now to state my objections to it. 

Although, from the title of the bill, it would seem that its main object 
was to make provision for continuing certain works already commenced 
in the Territory of Wisconsin, it appears, on examination of its pro- 
visions, that it contains only a single appropriation of six thousand 
dollars to be applied within that Territory, while it appropriates more 
than half a million of dollars for the improvement of numerous harbors 
and rivers lying within the limits and jurisdiction of several of the 
States of the Union. 

At the preceding session of Congress it became my duty to return, 
with my objections, to the House in which it originated, a bill making 
similar appropriations, and involving like principles, and the views then 
expressed remain unchanged. 

The circumstances under which this heavy expenditure of public 
money was proposed were of imposing weight in determining upon its 
expediency. Congress had recognized the existence of war with 
Mexico, and to prosecute it to " a speedy and successful termination" 
had made appropriations exceeding our ordinary revenues To meet 

15 



338 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

the emergency, and provide for the expenses of the Government, a 
loan of twenty-three millions of dollars was authorized at the same 
session, which has since been negotiated. The practical effect of this 
bill, had it become a law, would have been to add the whole amount 
appropriated by it to the national debt. It would, in fact, have made 
necessary an additional loan to that amount, as effectually as if in 
terms it had ref[uired the Secretary of the Treasury to borrow the 
money therein appropriated. The main question in that aspect is, 
whether it js wise, while all the means and credit of the Government 
are needed to bring th« existing war to an honorable close, to impair 
the one and endanger the other by borrowing money to be expended in 
a system of internal improvements capable of an expansion sufficient 
to swallow up the revenues not only of our own country, but of the 
civilized world. It is to be apprehended, that, by entering upon such a 
career at this moment, confidence, at home and abroad, in the wisdom 
and prudence of the Government, would be so far impaired as to make 
it difficult, without an immediate resort to heavy taxation, to maintain 
the public credit and to preserve the honor of the nation and the glory 
of our arms, in prosecuting the existing war to a successtul conclusion. 
Had this bill become a law, it is easy to foresee that largely increased 
demands upon the Treasury would have been made at each succeed- 
ing session of Congress, for the improvement of numerous other harbors, 
bays, inlets, and rivers, of equal importance with those embraced by 
its provisions. Many millions would probably have been added to the 
necessary amount of the war debt, the annual interest on which must 
also have been borrowed, and finally a permanent national debt been 
fastened on the country and entailed on posterity. 

The policy of embarking the Federal Government in a general sys- 
tem of internal improvements had its origin but little more than twenty 
years ago. In a very ^ew years the applications to Congress for ap- 
propriations in furtherance of such objects exceeded two hundred mil- 
lions of dollars. In this alarming crisis President Jackson refused to 
approve and sign the Maysville Road, bill, the Wabash River bill, and 
other bills of similar character. His interposition put a check upon 
the new policy of llyowing the cost of local improvements upon the 
National Treasury, preserved the revenues of the nation for their legiti 
mate objects, by which he was enabled to extinguish the then existing 
public debt, and to present to an admiring world the unprecedented 
spectacle in modern times of a nation free from debt, and advancing 
to greatness with unequalled strides, under a Government which wa 
content to act within its appropriate spliere in protecting the State 
and individuals in their own chosen career of improvement and of en 
terprise. Although the bill under consideration proposes no appropria- 



ox INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 339 

tion for a roail or canal, it is not easy to perceive tiie difference in prin- 
ciple or mischievous tendency between appropriations for making roads 
and digging canals, and appropriations to deepen rivers and improve 
harbors. All are alike within the limits and jurisdiction of the States, 
and rivers and harbors alon^ open an abyss of expenditure sufficient 
to swallow up the wealth of the nation, and load it with a debt which 
may fetter its energies and tax its industry for ages to come. 

The experience of several of the States, as well as that of the 
United States, during the period that Congress exercised the power of 
appropriating the public money for internal improvements, is full of 
eloquent warnings. It seems impossible, in the nature of the subject, 
as connected with local representation, that the several objects pre- 
sented for improvement shall be weighed according to their respective 
merits, and appropriations confined to those whose importance would 
justify a tax on the whole community to effect their accomplishment. 

In some of the States systems of iriternal improvements have been 
projected, consisting of roads and canals, many of which, taken sep- 
arately, were not of sufficient public importance to justify a tax on the 
entire population of the State to effect their construction ; and yet, by 
a combination of local interests, operating on a majority of the Leg- 
islature, the whole has been authorized, and the States plunged into 
heavy debts. To an extent so ruinous has this system of legislation 
been carried in some portions of the Union, that the people have found 
it necessary to their own safety and prosperity to forbid their Legisla- 
tures, by constitutional restrictions, to contract public debts for such 
purposes without their immediate consent. 

If the abuse of power has been so fatal in the States, where the 
systems of taxation are direct, and representatives responsible at short 
periods to small masses of constituents, how much greater danger of 
abuse is to be apprehended in the General Government, whose revenues 
are raised by indirect taxation, and whose functionaries are responsi- 
ble to the people in larger masses and for longer terms 1 

Regarding only objects of improvement of the nature of those em- 
braced in this bill, how inexhaustible we shall find them. Let the 
imagination run along our coast, from the river St. Croix to the Rio 
Grande, and trace every river emptying into the Atlantic and Gulf of 
Mexico to its source ; let it coast along our lakes and ascend all their 
tributaries; let it pass to Oregon, and explore all its bays, inlets, and 
streams; and then let it raise the curtain of the future, and contemplate 
the extent of this Republic, and the objects of improvement it will em- 
brace, as it advances to its high destiny, and the mind will be startled 
at the immensity and danger of the power which the principle of this 
bill involves. 



340 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

Already our Confederacy consists of twenty-nine States. Othe? 
States may at no distant period be expected to be formed on the west 
of our present settlements. We own an extensive country in Oregon, 
stretching many hundreds of miles from east to west, and seven de- 
grees of latitude from south to north. By the admission of Texas into 
the Union we have recently added many hundreds of miles to our sea- 
coast. In all this vast country, bordering on the Atlantic and Pacific, 
there are many thousands of bays, inlets, and rivers equally entitled to 
appropriations for their improvement with the objects embraced in this 
bill. 

We have seen in our States that the interests of individuals or neigh- 
borhoods, combining against the general interest, have involved their 
Governments in debts and bankruptcy ; and when the system prevailed 
in the General Government, and was checked by President Jackson, it 
had becrun to be considered the highest merit in a member of Congress 
to be able to procure appropriations of public money to be expended 
within his district or State, whatever might be the objects. We should 
be blind to the experience of the past if we did not see abundant evi- 
dences that if this system of expenditure is to be indulged in, combina- 
tions of individual and local interests will be found strong enough to 
control legislation, absorb the revenues of the country, and plunge the 
Government into a hopeless indebtedness. 

What is denominated a harbor by tiiis system does not necessaril3' 
mean a bay, inlet, or arm of the sea on the ocean or on our lake shores, 
on the margin of which may exist a commercial city or town engaged 
in foreign or domestic trade, but is made to embrace waters wliere there 
is not only no such city or town, but no commerce of any kind. By it 
arbayor sheet of shoal water is called a. Jiarbor, and appropriations 
demanded from Congress to deepen it, with a view to dra.w commerce 
to it, or to enable individuals to build up a town or city on its margin, 
upon speculation, and for their own private advantage. 

What is denominated a river, which may be improved, in the system, 
is equally undefined in its meaning. It may be the Mississippi, or it 
may be the smallest and most obscure and unimportant stream bearing 
the name of river which is to be found in any State in the Union. 

Such a system is subject, moreover, to be perverted to the accomplisli- 
menl of the worst of political purposes. During the few years it was 
in full operation, and which immediately preceded the veto of President 
Jackson of the JMaysville Road bill, instances were numerous of public 
men seeking to gain popular favor by holding out to the people inter- 
ested in particular localities the promise of large disbursements of 
public money. Numerous reconnoissances and surveys were made, 
during that period for roads and canals through many parts of the 



ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 341 

Union, and the people in the vicinity of each were led to believe that 
liieir property would be enhanced in value and they themselves be 
enriched by the large expenditures which they were promised by the 
advo<'ates of the system should be made trooa the Federal Treasury in 
their :jeighborhood. Whole sections of the country were thus sought to 
be iniiuenced, and the system was fast becoming one not only of profuse 
and WMfteful expenditure, but a potent political engine. 

If the power to improve a harbor be admitted, it is not easy to per- 
ceive how the power to deepen every inlet on the ocean or the lakes, 
and make iiarbors where there are none, can be denied. If the power 
to clear out or deepen the channel of rivers near their moutlis be ad- 
mitted, it is not easy to perceive how the power to improve them to 
their fountain head and make them navigable to their sources can be 
denied. Where shall the exercise of the poxyer, if it be assumed, stop 1 
Has Congress the power, when an inlet is deep enough to admit a 
schooner, to deepen it still more so that it will admit ships of heavy 
burden; and has it not the power, when an inlet will admit a boat, to 
make it deep enough to admit a schooner'? May it improve rivers 
deep enough already to float ships and steamboats, and has it no 
power to improve those which are navigable only for flat-boats and 
barges'? May the General Government exercise prtwer and jurisdic- 
tion over the soil of a State consisting of rocks and sand-bars in the 
beds of its rivers, and may it not excavate a canal round its water-falls 
or across its lands for precisely the same object 1 

Giving to the subject the most serious and candid consideration of 
which my mind is capable, I cannot perceive any intermediate grounds. 
The power to improve harbors and rivers for purposes of navigation, 
by deepening or clearing out, by dams and sluices, by locking or 
canalling, must be admitted without any other limitation than the dis- 
cretion of Congress, or it must be denied altogether. If it be admitted, 
how broad aiid how susceptible of enormous abuses is the power thu.s 
vested in the General Government ■? There is not an inlet of the 
ocean or the lakes, not a river, creek, or streamlet within the States, 
which is not brought for this purpose within the power and jurisdiction 
of the General Government. 

. Speculation, disguised under the cloak of public good, will call on 
Congress to deepen shallow inlets, that it may build up new cities on 
their shores, or to make streams navigable which Nature has closed 
by bars and rapids, that it may sell at a profit its lands upon their 
banks. ''To enrich neighborhoods by spending within it the moneys 
of the nation, will be the aim and boast of those who prize their 
local interests above the good of the nation, and millions upon mil- 
Cons will be abstracted by tariffs and taxes from the earnings of 



342 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

the whole people to foster speculation and subserve the objects of 
private ambition. 

Such a system could not be administered with any approach to 
equality among the several States and sections of the Union. There 
is no equality among them in the objects of expenditure, and, if the 
funds were distributed according to the merits of those objects, some 
would be enriched at the expense of their neighbors. But a greater 
practical evil would be found in the art and industry by which appro- 
priations would be sought and obtained. The most artful and in- 
dustrious would be the most successful; the true interests of the coun- 
try would be lost sight of in an annual scramble for the contents of the 
Treasury; and the member of Congress who could procure the largest 
appropriations to be expended in his district would claim the rewards 
of victory from his enriched constituents. The necessary consequence 
would be, sectional discontents and heartburnings, increased taxation, 
and a national debt, never to be extinguished. 

In view of these portentous consequences, I cannot but think tliat 
this course of legislation should be arrested, even were there nothing 
to forbid it in the fundamental laws of our Union. This conclusion is 
fortified by the fact that the constitution itself indicates a process by 
which harbors and rivers within the States may be improved — a pro- 
cess not susceptible of the abuses necessarily to flow from the assump- 
tion of the power to improve them by the General Government; just 
in its operation, and actually practised upon, without complaint or in- 
terruption, during more than thirty years from the organization of the 
present Government. 

The constitution provides that " no State shall, without the consent 
of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage." With the '■ consent"' of Con- 
n-ress such duties may be levied, collected, and expended by the States. 
We are not left in the dark as to the objects of this reservation of 
power to the States. The subject was lully considered^ by the con- 
vention that framed the constitution. It ap}>ears in Mr. Madison's re- 
port of the proceedings of that body, that one object of the reservation 
was, that the States should not be restricted from laying duties of ton- 
nage for the purpose of clearing harbors. Other objects were named 
in the debates, and among them the support of seamen. Mr. Madison, 
treating on this subject in the Federalist, declares that — 

"The restraint on the power of the States over imports and exports 
is enforced by all the arguments which prove the necessity of submitting 
the regulation of tratle to the Federal Councils. It is needless there- 
fore to remark further on tills head than that the manner in which 
the restraint is qualified seems well calcuated at once to secure to the 
States a reasonable discretion in providing for the convenienpy of theij 



ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 343 

imports and exports, and to the United States a reasonable check 
against the abuse of this discretion." 

^ The States may lay tonnage duties for clearing harbors, improving 
rivers, or for other purposes, but are restrained from abusing the power" 
because, before such duties can take effect, the "consent" of Congress 
must be obtained. Here is a safe provision for the improvement of 
harbors and rivers in the reserved powers of the States, and in the aid 
they may derive from duties of tonnage levied with the consent of 
Congress. Its safeguards are, that both the State Legislatures and 
Congress have to concur in the act of raising the funds ; that tliey 
are in every instance to be levied upon the commerce of those ports 
which are to profit by the proposed improvement; that no question of 
conflicting power or jurisdiction is involved ; that the expenditure being 
in the hands of tho.so who are to pay the money and be immediately 
benefited, will be more carefully managed and more productive of good 
than if the funds were drawn from the National Treasury and disbursed 
by the officers of the General Government; that such a system will 
carry with it no enlargement of Federal power and patronage, and 
leave the States to be the sole judges of their own wants and interests, 
with only a conservative negative in Congress upon anv abuse of tiie 
power which the States may attempt. 

Under this wise system the improvement of harbors and rivers was 
commenced, or rather continue.! .from the organization of the Govern- 
ment under the present constitution. Many acts were passed by the 
several States levying duti.s of tonnicr-^ arid many were passed by 
Congress giving their cons- nt to thos.'- acts. Such acts have been 
passed by Massachu.setts Khode Island Pennsvlvania. Maryland. 
Virginia, North Carolina. South Carolina and Georgia and have 
been sanctioned by the consent of Congres.s._ Without enumerating 
them all, it may be instructive to refer to sojneof them as illustrative 
of the mode of improving harbors and rivers in the early periods of 
our Government, as to the constitutionality of whicli there can be no 
doubt. 

In January, 1790. the State of Rhode Island pa.ssed a biw levyincr 
a tonnage duty on-^'essels arriving in the port of Providence, ' for' the 
purpose of clearing and deepening the channel of Providence river 
and making the same more navig;il)le " 

On the 2d of February, 1798. the State of Jdassacluisetts passed a 
law levying a tonnage duty on all ve.ssels, whether employed in the 
foreign or coasting trade which might enter into the Kennebunk river, 
*or the improvement of the same, by ■' rendering the passage in and 
•"ut of said river less difficult and dangerous." 

On the 1st of April, 1805, the State of Penn.sylvania passed a law 



344 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

levying a tonnacje duty on vessels, " to remove the obstructions to the 
navigation of the river Delaware, below the city of Philadelphia." 

On the 23d of January, lHO-4, the State of Virginia passed a law 
levying a tonnage duty on vessels, " for improving the navigation of 
James river." 

On the 22d of February,, 182G, the State of Virginia passed a law 
levyincr a tonnage duty on vessels, " for improving the navigation of 
James river, froni Warwick to Rockett's Landing." 

On the 8th of December, 1824, the State of Virginia passed a law 
levying a tonnage duty on vessels, for " improving the navigation of 
Appomatox river, from Pocahontas bridge to Broadway." 

In November, 1821, the State of North Carolina passed a law levy- 
ing a tonnage duty on vessels, " for the purpose of opening an inlet at 
the lower end of Albemarle Sound, near a ])lace called Nag's Head, 
and improving the navigation of said Sound, with its branches ;" and 
in November, 1828, an amendatory law was passed. 

On the 21st of December, 1801, the State of South Carolina passed 
a law levying a tonnage duty, for the purpo.sc of " building a marine 
hospital in the vicinity of Charleston;" and on the 17th of December, 
181(3, another law was passed by the Legislature of that State for the 
"maintenance of a marine hospital." 

On the lOtli of February. 1787, the Stite of Georgia passed a law 
levying a tonnage duty on all vessels ent ring into the port of Savan- 
nah, for the purpose of ' clearinir" the Savannah river of " wrecks 
and otfier obstructions" to the n ivi r ulon. 

On the 12th of December K-iOl. the Si ire of Georgia passed a law 
levying a tonnage duty on vessels ' to b • applied to the payment of 
the fees of the harbor-m i.ster and health officer of the ports of Sa- 
vannah and St. Mary's " 

In April, 1783, the State of Maryland p-issed a law laying a tonnage 
duty on vessels, for the improvement of the ■ basin"" and " harbor" of 
Baltimore and the "river Patapsco." 

On the 2;th of Decemb'r I7')I, the State of Maryland passed a law 
Icxyini; a tonnage du'v on v.'ss-ils, for the improvement of the ' harbor 
and port of Balii uorc. ' 

On the 28t!v of Deceinhcr ■ V.)3 the State of Marylmd passed a law 
authorizing the appoint!n;'nt of a health ofn.'cr for the' port of Balti- 
more, and laying a tonnage duty on vessels to defray the expenses. 

Congress has passtd many acts giving its '■ consent ' to these and 
other State laws, the first of which 'ia datrd in 17:)0, and the last in 
1813. By the latter act the ■ consent" of < ' mgress was givrn to the 
law of the Legislature of the State of M Myland Iay:n_r a tonnage 
duty on vessels for tlie in.pnivement of tlii luirhor oi' Baltimore, and 



ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 345 

continuing it in force until the 1st day of June, 1850. I transmit here- 
with copies of such of the acts of the Legislatures of the States on 
the subject, and also the acts of Congress giving its " consent" thereto, 
as have been collated. 

That the power was constitutionally and rightfully exercised in these 
cases does not admit of a doubt. 

The injustice and inequality resulting from conceding the. power to 
both Governments is illustrated by several of the acts enumerated. 
Take that for the improvement of the harbor of Baltimore. That 
improvement is paid for exclusively by a tax on the commerce of 
that city; but if an appropriation be made from the National Treasury 
for the improvement of the harbor of Boston, it must be paid in part 
out of taxes levied on the commerce of Baltimore. The result is, that 
the commerce of Baltimore pays the full cost of the harbor improve- 
ment designed for its own benefit, and, in addition, contributes to the 
cost of all other harbor and river improvements in the Union. The 
facts need but be stated to prove the inequality and injustice which 
cannot but flow from the practice embodied in this bill. Either the 
subject should be left as it v/as during the first third of a century, or 
the practice of levying tonnage duties by the States should be aban- 
doned altogether, and all harbor and river improvements made under 
the authority of the United States and by means of direct appropria- 
tions. In view not only of the constitutional difficulty, but as a ques- 
tion of policy. I am clearly of opinion that the whole subject should 
be left to the States, aided by such tonnage duties on vessels navigat- 
ing their waters as their respective Legislatures may think proper to 
propose and Congress see fit to sanction. This " consent" of Congress 
would never be refused in any case where the duty proposed to be 
levied by the State was reasonable, and where the object of improve- 
ment was one of importance. The funds required for the improvement 
of harbors and rivers may be raised in this mode, as was done in the 
earlier periods of the Government, and thus avoid a resort to a strained 
construction of the constitution, not warranted by its letter. If direct 
nppropriati'Ons be made of the money in the Federal Treasury for such 
purposes, the expenditures will be unequal and unjust. The money 
in the Federal Treasury is paid by a tax on the whole people of the 
United States, and if applied to the purposes of improving harbors and 
rivers, it will be partially distributed, and be expended for the advan- 
tage of particular States, sections, or localities, at the expense of 
others. 

By returning to the early and approved construction of the constitu- 
tion, and to the practice under it, this inequality and injustice will be 
avoided, and, at the same time, all the really important improvements 

15* 



346 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

be made, and, as our experience has proved, be better made, and at 
less cost, than they would be by the agency of officers of the United 
States. The interests benefited by these improvements, too, would 
bear the cost of making them, upon the same principle that the expenses 
of the Post OfBce establishment have always been defrayed by those 
who derive benefits from it. The power of appropriating money from 
the Treasury for such improvements was not claimed or exercised for 
more than thirty years after the organization of the Government in 
1789, w^hen a more latitudinous construction was indicated, though it 
was not broadly asserted and exercised until 1825. Small appropria- 
tions were first made in 1820 and 1821 for surveys. An act was made 
on the 3d of March, 1823, authorizing the President to cau.^e an •■ ex- 
amination and survey to be made of the obstructions between the har- 
bor of Gloucester and the harbor of Squam, in the State of Massa- 
chusetts," and of ■' the entrance of the harbor of the port of Presque 
Isle, in Pennsylvania," with a view to their removal, and a small ap- 
propriation was made to pay the necessary expenses. This appears to 
have been the commencement of harbor improvements by Congress, 
thirty-four years after the Government went into operation under the 
present constitution. On the 30th April, 1821, an act was passed mak- 
ing an appropriation of thirty thou.'^and dollars, and directing " su^^•03•s 
and estimates to be made of the routes of such roads and canals" 
as the President ■■ may deem of national importance, in a commercial 
or miUtary point of view, or necessary tor the transportation of the 
mails." This act evidently looked to the adoption of a general sys- 
tem of internal improvements, to embrace roads and canals as well as 
harbors and rivers. On the 2Gth May, 1824, an act was passed mak- 
ing appropriations for ''deepening the channel leading into the harbor 
of Presque Isle, in the State of Pennsylvania," and to -repair Ply- 
mouth Beach, in the State of Massachusetts, and thereby prevent the 
harbor at that place from being destroyed.' 

President Monroe yielded his approval to these measures, though he 
entertained, and had, in a message to the House of Representatives on 
the 4th of May, 1822, expressed the opinion, that the constitution had 
not conferred upon Congress the power to '• adopt and execute a sys- 
tem of internal improvements." He placed his approval upon the 
ground, not that Congress possessed the power to " adopt and execute" 
8uch a system by virtue of any or all of the enumerated grants of 
power in the constitution, but upon the as3un)ption that the power to 
make appropriations of the public money was limited and restrained 
only by the discretion of Congress. In coming to this conclusion he 
avowed that "in the more early stage of the Government" he had en- 
tertained a different opinion. He avowed that his first opinion had 



ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 347 

been, that, =' as the National Government is a government of limited 
powers, it has no right to expend money except in the perlbrmance of 
acts authorized by the other specific grants, according to a strict con- 
struction of their powers;" and that the pawer to make appropriations 
gave to Congress no discretionary authority to apply the public money 
to any other ptfrposes or objects except to '■ carry into effect the powers 
contained in the other grants." These sound views, which Mr. Mon- 
roe entertained - in the early stage of the Government," he gave up in 
1822, and declared that— 

" The right of appropriation is notiiing more than a right to apply 
the public money to this or that purpose. It has no incidental power, 
nor does it draw after it any consequences of tiiat kind. All that Con- 
gress could do under it, in the case of internal improvements, would be 
to appropriate the money necessary to make them. For any act re- 
quiring legislative sanction or support the State authority must be relied 
on. The condemnation of the land if the proprietors should refuse to 
sell it, the establishment of turnpikes and tolls, and the protection of 
the work when finished, must be done by the State. To these purposes 
the powers of the General Government are believed to be utterly in- 
competent." 

But it is impossible to conceive on what principle the power of ap- 
propriating public money when in the Treasury can be construed to 
extend to objects for which the constitution does not authorize Conoress 
to levy taxes or imposts to raise money. The power of appropriation 
is but the consequence of the power to raise money ; and the true in- 
quiry is, whether Congress has the right to levy taxes for the object 
over which power is claimed. 

During the four succeeding years embraced by the administration of 
President Adams, the power not only to appropriate money, but to ap- 
ply it, under the direction and authority of the General Government, 
as well to the construction of roads as to the improvement of harbors 
and rivers, was fully asserted and exercised. 

Among other acts assuming the power, was one passed on the twen- 
tieth of May, 1820, entitled '-An act for improving certain harbors and 
the navigation of certain rivers and creeks, and for authorizing surveys 
to be made of certain bays, sounds, and rivers therein mentioned." 
By that act large appropriations were made, which were to be " applied 
under the direction of the President of the United States" to numerous 
improvements in ten of the States. This act, passed thirty-seven years 
after the organization of the present Government, conjoined the first 
appropriation ever made for the improvement of a navigable river, un- 
less it be small appropriations for examinations and surveys in 1820. 
During the residue of that Administration many other appropriations 



348 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

of a similar character were made, embracing roads, rivers, harbors, 
and canals, and objects claiming the aid of Congress multiplied with- 
out number. 

This was the first breach effected in the barrier which the universal 
opinion of the framers of the constitution had for more than thirty 
years thrown in the way of the assumption of this power by Congress. 
The general mind of Congress and the country did not appreciate the 
distinction taken by President Monroe between the right to appropriate 
money for an object and the right to apply and expend it without the 
embarrassment and delay of applications to the State Governments. 
Probably no instance occurred in which such an application was made, 
and the flood-gates being thus hoisted, the principle laid down by him 
was disregarded, and applications for aid from the Treasury, virtually 
to make harbors as well as improve them, clear out rivers, cut canals, 
and construct roads, poured into Congress in torrents until arrested by 
the veto of President Jackson. His veto of the Maysville Road bill 
was followed up by his refusal to sign the " act making appropriations 
for building hghthouses, lightboats, beacons, and monuments, placing 
buoys, improving harbors, and directing surveys;" "an act authorizing 
subscription for stock in the Louisville and Portland Canal Company 1" 
" an act for the improvement of certain harbors and the navigation of 
certain rivers ;" and finally •' an act to improve the navigation of the 
Wabash river." In his objections to the act last named he says : 

" The desire to embark the Federal Government in works of internal 
improvement prevailed, in the highest degree, during the first session 
of the first Congress that I had the honor to meet in my present situa- 
tion. When the bill authorizing a subscription on the part of the 
United States for stock in the Maysville and Lexington Turnpike 
Company passed the two Houses, there had been reported by the Com- 
mittee on Internal Improvements bills containing appropriations for 
such onjects, exclusive of those for the Cumberland Road, and for 
harbors and lighthouses, to the amount of about one hundred and six 
millions of dollars. In this amount was included authority to the 
Secretary of the Treasury to subscribe for the stock of different com- 
panies to a great extent, and the residue was principally for the direct 
construction of roads by this Government. In addition to these pro- 
jects, which have been presented to the two Houses under the sanction 
and recommendation of their respective Committees on Internal Im- 
provements, there were then still pending before the committees, and 
in memorials to Congress, presented but not referred, different projects 
for works of a.6imilar character, the expense of which cannot be esti- 
mated with certainty, but must have exceeded one hundred millions of 
dollars," 



ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 349 

Thus, within the brief period of less than ten years after the com- 
mencement of internal improvements by the General Government, the 
sum asked for from the Treasury for various projects amounted to more 
than two hundred millions of dollars. President Jackson's powerful 
and disinterested appeals to his country appear to have put down for- 
ever the assumption of power to make roads and cut canals, and to 
have checked the prevalent disposition to bring all rivers in any degree 
navigable within the control of the General Government. But an 
immense field for expending the public money and increasing the power 
and patronage of this Government was left open in the concession of 
even a limited power of Congress to improve harbors and rivers — a 
field which millions will not fertilize to the satisfaction of those local 
and speculating interests by which these projects are in general gotten 
up. There cannot be a just and equal distribution of public burdens 
and benefits under such a system, nor can the States be relieved from 
the danger of fatal encroachment, nor the United States from the equal 
danger of consolidation, otherwise than by an arrest of the system, 
and a return to the doctrines and practices which prevailed during the 
first thirty years of the Government. 

•How forcibly does the history of this subject illustrate the tendency 
of power to concentration in the hands of the General Government. 
The power to improve their own harbors and rivers was clearly re- 
served to the States, who were to be aided by tonnage duties levied 
and collected by themselves, with the consent of Congress. For thirty- 
four years improvements were carried on under that system, and so 
careful was Congress not to interfere, under any implied power, with 
the soil or jurisdiction of the States, that they did not even assume the 
power to erect lighthouses or build piers without first purchasing the 
ground, with the consent of the States, and obtaining jurisdiction 
over it. At length, after the lapse of thirty-three years, an act is 
passed providing for the examination of certain obstructions at the 
mouth of one or two harbors almost unknown. It is followed by acts 
making small appropriations for the removal of those obstructions. 
The obstacles interposed by President Monroe, after conceding the 
power to appropriate, were soon swept away. Congress virtually as- 
sumed jurisdiction of the soil and waters of the States, without their 
consent, for the purposes of internal improvement, and the eyes of 
eager millions were turned t'rom the State Governments to Congress as 
the fountain whose golden streams were to deepen their harbors and 
rivers, level their mountains, and fill their valleys with canals. To 
what consequences this assumption of power was remidly leading is 
shown by the veto messages of President Jackson>; and to what end it 



350 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

is ajrain tending is witnessed by the provisions of this bill and bills of 
similar character. 

In the proceedings and debates of the General Convention which 
formed the constitution, and of the State Conventions which adopted 
it, nothing is found to countenance the idea that the one intended to pro- 
pose, or the others to concede, such a grant of power to the General 
Government as the building up and maintaining of a system of internal 
improvements within the States necessarily implies. Whatever the 
General Government may constitutionally create, it may lawfully pro- 
tect. If it may make a road upon the soil of the States, it may pro- 
tect it from destruction or injury by penal laws. So of canals, rivers, 
and harbors. If it may put a dam in a river, it may protect that dam 
from removal or injury, in direct opposition to the laws, authorities, 
and people of the State in which it is situated. If it may deepen a 
harbor, it may by its own laws protect its agents and contractors from 
' being driven from their work, even by the laws and authorities of the 
State. The power to make a road or canal, or to dig up the bottom of 
a harbor or river, imphes a right in the soil of the State, and a juris- 
diction over it, for which it would be impossible to find any warrant. 

The States were particularly jealous of conceding to the General 
Government any right of jurisdiction over their soil, and in the consti- 
tution restricted the exclusive legislation of Congress to such places as 
might be " purchased with the consent of the Slates in which the same 
shall be for the erection of forts magazines, dock-yards, and other 
needful buildings." That the United States should be prohibited from 
purchasing lands within the States, without their consent, even for 
the most essential purposes of national defence, while leR at liberty to 
purchase or seize them for roads, canals, and other improvements of 
immeasurably less importance, is not to be conceived. 

A proposition was made in the Convention to provide for the appoint- 
ment of a " Secretary of Domestic Affairs," and make it his duty, 
among other things, " to attend to the opening of roads and naviga- 
tion, and the facihtating communications through the United S'tates." 
It was referred to a committee, and that appears to have been the last 
of it. On a subsequent occasion a proposition was made to confer on 
Congress the power to ' provide for the cutting of canals when deemed 
necelsary," which was rejected by the strong majority of eight States 
to three. Among the reasons given for the rejection of this proposi- 
tion, it was urged that " the expense in such cases will fall on the 
United States, and the benefits accrue to the places where the canals 
may be cut." 

During the consideration of this proposition a motion was made to 
enlarge the proposed power "for cutting canals" into ■ a power "to 



ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 351 

grant charters of incorporation, when the interest of the United States 
might require, and the legislative provisions of the individual States 
may be incompetent;" and the reason assigned by Mr. Madison for the 
proposed enlargement of the power was, that it would " secure an easy 
communication between the States which the free intercourse now to 
be opened seemed to call for. The political obstacles being removed, 
a removal of the natural ones, as far as possible, ought to follow." 

The original proposition and all the amendments were rejected, after 
deliberate discussion, not on the ground, as so much of that discussion 
as hns been preserved indicates, that no direct grant was necessary, 
but because it was deemed inexpedient to grant it at all. When it is 
considered that some of the members of the Convention, who after- 
wards participated in the organization and administration of the Gov- 
ernment, advocated and i)iucii.se(l upon a very liberal construction of 
the constitution, grasping at many high powers as implied in its various 
provisions, not one of them, it is believed, at that day claimed the 
power to make roads and canals, or improve rivers and harbors, or ap- 
propriate money for that purpose. Among our early statesmen of the 
strict construction class the opinion was universal, when the subject 
was first broached, that Congress did not possess the power, although 
some of them thought it desirable. 

President Jefferson, in his message to Congress in 1806, recommended 
an auiendment of the constitution, with a view to apply an anticipated 
surplus in the Treasury '■ to the great purposes of the public education, 
roads, rivers, canals, and such other objects of public improvements 
as it may be thought proper to add to the constitutional enumeration 
of the federal powers;" and he adds : " I suppose an amendment to 
the constitution, by consent of the States, necessary, -because the ob- 
jects now recommended are not among those enumerated in the con- 
stitution, and to which it permits the public moneys to be applied." 
In 1823. he i;epeated, in his published letters, the opinion that no such 
power has been conferred upon Congress. 

President Madison, in a message to the House of Representatives 
of the 3d of March, 1817, assigning his objections to a bill entitled 
" An act to set apart and pledge certain funds for internal improve- 
ments," declares that " the power to regulate commerce among the 
several States cannot include a power to construct roads and canals, 
and to improve the navigation of water-courses, m order to facilitate, 
promote, and secure such commerce, without a latitude of construc- 
tion departing from the ordinary import of the terms strengthened by 
the known inconveniences which doubtless led to the grant of this re- 
medial power to Congress." 

President Monroe, in a mgssage to the House of Representatives of 



352 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

the 4th of May, I82-2, containing his objections to a bill entitled " An 
act for the preservation and repair of the Cumberland road," declares: 
" Commerce between independent powers or communities is univer- 
sally regulated by duties and imposts. It was so regulated by the 
States before ^he adoption of this constitution, equally in respect to 
each other and to foreign powers. The goods and vessels employed 
in the trade are the only subjects of regulation. It can act on none 
other. A power, then, to impose such duties and imposts in regard to 
foreign nations, and to prevent any on the trade between the States, 
was the only power granted. 

" If we recur to the causes which produced the adoption of this con- 
stitution, we shall find that injuries resulting from the regulation of 
trade by the States respectively, and the advantages anticipated from 
the transfer of the power to Congress, were among those which had 
the most weight. Instead of acting as a nation in regard to foreign 
powers, the States, individually, had commenced a system of restraint 
on each other, whereby the interests of foreign powers were promoted 
at their expense. If one State imposed high duties on the goods or 
vessels of a foreign power to countervail the regulations of such power, 
the next adjoining States imposed lighter duties to invite those articles 
into their ports, that they might be transferred thence into the other 
States, securing the duties to themselves. This contracted policy in 
some of the States was soon counteracted by others. Restraints were 
immediately laid on such commerce by the suflering States: and thus 
had grown up a state of affairs disorderly and unnatural, the tendency 
of which was to destroy the Union itself, and with it all hope of realiz- 
ing those blessings which we had anticipated from the glorious revolu- 
tion which had been so recently achieved. From this deplorable di- 
lemma, or rather certain ruin, we were happily rescued by the adoption 
of the constitution. 

" Among the first and most important effects of this great revolution 
was the complete abolition of this pernicious policy. The States were 
brought too-ether by the constitution, as to commerce, into one com- 
munity, equally in regard to foreign nations and each other. The reg- 
ulations that were adopted regarded us in both respects as one people. 
The duties and imposts that were laid on the vessels and merchandise 
of foreign nations were all uniform throughout the United States, and 
in the intercourse between the States themselves no duties of any kind 
were imposed other than between different ports and counties within 
the same State. 

" This view is supported by a series of measures, all of a marked 
character, preceding the adoption of the constitution. As early as the 
year 1781 Congress recommended it to the States to vest in the United 



ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 353 

States a power to levy a duty of five per cent, on all goods imported 
from foreign countries into the United States for the term of fifteen 
years. In 1783 this recommendation, with alterations as to the kind 
of duties and an extension of this term to twenty-five years, was re- 
peated and more earnestly urged. In 178-1 it was recoipmended to the 
States to authorize Congress to prohibit, under certain modifications, 
the importation of goods from foreign powers into the United States 
for fifteen years. In 1785 the consideration of the subject was re- 
sumed, and a proposition presented in a new form, with an address to 
the States explaining luUy the principles on which a grant of the 
power to regulate trade was deemed indispensable. In 1786 a meet- 
ing took place at Annapolis of delegates from several of the States on 
this subject, and on their report the convention was formed at Phila- 
delphia the ensuing year from all the States, to whose deliberations 
we are indebted for the present constitution. 

" In none of these measures was the subject of internal improve- 
ment mentioned or even glanced at. Those of 1734, 5, 6, and 7, lead- 
ing step by step to the adoption of the constitution, had in view only 
the obtaining of a power to enable Congress to regulate trade with 
foreign powers. It is manifest that the regulation of trade with the 
several States was altogether a secondary object, suggested by and 
adopted in connection with the other. If the power necessary to this 
system of improvement is included under either branch of this grant, 
I should suppose that it was the first rather than the second. The 
pretension to it, however, under that branch has never been set up. In 
support of the claim under the second no reason has been assigned 
which appears to have the least weight." 

Such is a brief history of the origin, progress, and consequences of 
a system which for more than thirty years after the adoption of the 
constitution was unknown. The greatest embarrassment upon the 
subject consists in the departure which has taken place from the early 
construction of the constitution and the precedents which are found in 
the legislation of Congress in later years. President Jackson, in his 
veto of the Wabash River bill, declares- that " to inherent embarrass- 
ments have been added others, from the course of our legislation con- 
cerning it." In his vetoes on the Maysville Road bill, the Rockville 
Road bill, the Wabash Rivar bill, and other bills of like character, he re- 
versed the precedents which existed prior to that time on the subject 
of internal improvements. When our experience, observation, and re- 
flection have convinced us that a legislative precedent is either unwise 
or unconstitutional, it should not be followed. 

No express grant of this power is found in the constitution. Its ad- 
vocates have differed amons themselves as to the source from which it 



354 SPECIAL MESSAGE 

is derived as an incident. In the progress of the discussions upon this 
subject the power to regulate commerce seems now to be chiefly reUed 
upon, especially in reference to the improvement of harbors and rivers. 
In relation to the regulation of commerce, the language of the grant 
in the constitution is, '■ Congress shall have power to regulate com- 
merce with foreign nations and among the several States, and with the 
Indian tribes." That " to regulate commerce" does not mean to make 
a road, or dig a canal, or clear out a river, or deepen a harbor, would 
seem to be obvious to the common understanding. To '-regulate" ad- 
mits or affirms the pre-existence of the thing to be regulated. In this 
case it presupposes the existence of commerce, and of course the 
means by which, and the channels through which, commerce is carried 
oh. It confers no creative power; it only assumes control over that 
which may have been brought into existence through other agencies, 
such as State legislation, and the industry and enterprise of individuals. 
If the definition of the word -regulate" is to include the provision of 
means to carry on commerce, then have Congress not only power to 
deepen harbors, clear out rivers, dig canals, and make roads, but also 
to build ships, railroad cars, and other vehicles, all of which are neces- 
sary to commerce. There is no middle ground. If the power to regu- 
late can be legitimately construed into a power to create or facilitate, 
then not only the bays and harbors, but the roads and canals, and nil 
the means of transporting merchandise among the several States, are 
put at the disposition of Congress. This power to regulate commerce 
was construed and exercised immediately after the adoption of the con- 
stitution, and has been exercised to the present day, by prescribing 
general rules by which coaimerce should be conducted. With foreign 
nations it has been regulated by treaties, defining the rights of citizens 
and subjects, as well as by acts of Congress imposing duties and re- 
strictions, embracing vessels, seamen, cargoes, and passengers. It has 
been regulated among the States by acts of Congress relating to the 
coasting trade, and the vessels employed therein, and for the better 
security of passengers in vessels propelled by steam, and by the re- 
,moval of all restrictions upon internal trade. It has been regulated 
with the Indian tribes by our intercourse laws, prescribing the manner 
m which it shall be carried on. Thus each branch of this grant of 
power was exercised soon alter the adoption of the constitution, and 
has continued to be exercised to the present day. If a more extended 
construction be adopted, it is impossible for the human mind to fix on 
a limit to the exercise of the ^nwev other than the will and discretion 
of .Congress. It sweeps into the vortex of national power and juris- 
diction not only harbors and inlets, rivers and little streams, but canals, 
turnpikes, and railroads — every species of improvement which caa 



ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 355 

facilitate or create trade and intercourse " with foreign nations, among 
the several States, and with the Indian tribes." 

Should any great object of improvement exist in our widely-extended 
country, which cannot be effected by means of tonnage duties, levied 
by the States, with the concurrence of Congress, it is safer and wiser 
to apply to the States, in the mode prescribed by the constitution, for an 
amendment of that instrument, whereby the powers of the Genera 
Government may be enlarged, with such limitations and restrictions as 
experience has shown to be proper, than to assume and exercise a 
power which has not been granted, or which may be regarded as 
doubtful in the opinion of a large portion of our constituents. This 
course has been recommended successively by Presidents Jefferson, 
Madison, Monroe, and Jackson, and I fully concur with them in opin- 
ion. If an enlargement of power should be deemed proper, it will un- 
questionably be granted by the States ; if otherwise, it will be with- 
held ; and, in either case, their decision should be final. In the mean 
time, I deem it proper to add that the investigation of this subject has 
impressed me more strongly than ever with the solemn conviction that 
the usefulness and permanency of this Government, and the happiness 
of the millions over whom it spreads its protection, will be best pro- 
moted by carefully abstaining from the exercise of all powers not 
clearly granted by the constitution. 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

DECEMBER Sth, 1S46. 



Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representalives : 

In resuming your labors in the service of the people, it is a subject 
of congratulation tliat there has been no period in our past history, 
when all the elements of national prosperity have been so fully developed. 
Since your last session, no afflicting dispensation has visited our coun- 
try; general good health has prevailed ; abundance has crowned tlie 
toil of the husbandman; and labor in all its branches is receiving an 
ample reward, while education, science, and the arts are rapidly en- 
larging the means of social hap])incss. The progress of our country in 
her career of greatness, not only in tlie vast extension of our territorial 
limits, and the rapid, increase of our population, but in resources and 
wealth, and in the happy condition of our people, is without example in 
the history of nations. 

As the wisdom, strength, and beneficence of our free in.stitutions are 
unfolded, every day adds fresh motives to contentment, and fresh incen- 
tives to patriotism. 

Our devout and sincere acknowledgments are due to the gracious 
Giver of all good, for the nuaiberless blessings which our beloved 
country enjoys. 

It is a source of high satisfaction to know tliat the relations of the 
United States with all other nations, with a single exception, are of 
the most amicable character. Sincerely attached to the policy of peace, 
early ailopted and steadily pursued by this government, I have anxiously 
desired to cultivate and cherish friendship and commerce with every 
foreign povyer. The spirit and habits of the American people are favor- 
able to the maintenance of such international haraiony. In adhering 
to this wise policy, a preliminary and paramount duty obviously con- 
sists in the protection of our national interests from encroachment or 
sacrifice, and our national honor from reproach. These must be main- 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 357 

tained at any hazard. They admit of no compromise or neglect, and 
must be scrupulously and constantly guarded. In their vigilant vindi- 
cation, collision and conflict with foreign powers may sometimes become 
unavoidable. Such has been our scrupulous adiierence to the dictates 
of justice, in all our foreign intercourse, that, though steadily and 
rapidly advancing in prosperity and power, we have given no just cause 
of complaint to any nation, and have enjoyed the blessings of peace 
for more than thirty years. From a policy so sacred to humanity, and 
so salutary in its effects upon our political system, we should never 
be induced voluntarily to depart. 

The existing war witli Mexico was neither desired nor provoked by 
the United States. On the contraiy, all honorable means were resorted 
to to avert it. After y^ars of endurance of aggravated and unredressed 
wrongs on our part, Mexico, in violation of solemn treaty stipulations, 
and of every principle of justice recognized by civilized nations, com- 
menced hostilities; and thus, by her own act, forced the war upon us. 
Long before the advance of our army to the left bank of the Rio Grande, 
we had ample cause of war against Mexico; and had the United States 
resorted to this extremity, we might iiave appealed to the whole civilized 
world for the justice of our cause. 

I deem it to be my duty to present to you. on the present occasion, a 
condensed review of the injuries we had sustained, of the causes which 
led to the war, and of its progress since its commencement. This is 
rendered the more necessary because of the misappreliensions which 
have to some extent prevailed, as to its origin and true character. The 
war has been represented as unjust and unnecessary, and as one of 
aggression on our part upon a weak and injured enemy. Such errone- 
ous vievvs, though entertained by but few, have been widely and ex- 
tensively circulated, not only at home, but have been spread throughout 
Mexico and the whole world. A more effectual means could not have 
been devised to encourage the enemy and protract the war' than to 
advocate and adhere to their cause, and thus give them '-aid and 
comfort." 

It is a source of national pride and exultation, that the great body of 
our people have thrown no such obstacles in the way of the government 
in prosecuting the war successfully, but have shown themselves to be 
eminently patriotic, and ready to vindicate their country's honor and 
interest at any sacrifice. The alacrity and promptness with which our 
volunteer forces rushed to the field on tlieir country's call, prove not 
only their patriotism, but their deep conviction that our cause is just. 

The wrongs which we have suffered t'rom Mexico almost ever since 
she became an independent power, and the patient endurance with 
which we have borne them, are without a parallel in the history of 



358 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

/nodern civilized nations. There is reason to believe that, if these 
wrongs had been resented and resisted in the first instance, the present 
war mi£fht have been avoided. One outrage, however, permitted to 
pass with impunity, almost necessarily encouraged the perpetration of 
another, until at last Mexico seemed to attribute to weakness and inde- 
cision, on our part, a forbearance which was the ofTspring of magna- 
nimity, and of a sincere desire to preserve friendly relations with a 
sister republic. 

Scarcely had Mexico achieved her independence, which the United 
States were the first among the nations to acknowledge, when she com- 
menced the system of insult and spoliation, which she has ever since 
pursued. Our citizens engaged in lawful commerce were imprisoned, 
their vessels seized, and our flag insulted in her ports. If money was 
wanted, the lawless seizure and confiscation of our merchant vessels 
and their cargoes was a ready resource ; and if, to accomplish their 
})urposes, it became necessary to imprison the owners, captains, and 
crew, it was done. Rulers superseded rulers in Mexico in rapid suc- 
cession, but still there was no change in this system of depredation. 
The Government of the United States made repeateil reclamations on 
behalf of its citizens, but these were answered by the perpetration of 
new outrages. Promises of redress made by Mexico in the most solemn 
forms were postponed or evaded. The files and records of the Depart- 
ment of State contain conclusive proofs of numerous lawless acts 
perpetrated upon the property and persons of our citizens by Mexico, 
and of wanton insult to our national flag. The interposition of our 
Government to obtain redress was again and again invoked under cir- 
cumstances which no nation ouirht to disregard. 

It was hoped that these outrages would cease, and that Mexico 
would be restrained by the laws which regulate the conduct of civil- 
ized nations in their intercourse with each other after the treaty of 
amity, commerce, and navigation, of the 5th of April, 1831, was con- 
cluded between two republics; but this hope soon proved to be vain. 
Tlie course of seizure and confiscation of the property of our citizens, 
the violation of their persons, and the insults to our flag, pursued by 
Mexico previous to that time, were scarcely suspended for even a brief 
period, although the treaty so clearly defines tiie rights and duties of 
the respective parties, that it is impossible to misunderstand or mistake 
them. In less than seven years after the conclusion of that treaty our 
grievances had become so intolerable, that, in the opinion of President 
/ Jackson, they should no longer be endured. In his Message to Con- 
gress in February, 1837, he presented them to the consideration of 
that body, and declared that " The length of time since some of the 
injuries had been committed, the repeated and unavailing application? 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 359 

for redress, the wanton character of some of the outrages upon the prop- 
erty and persons of our citizens, upon the officers and flag of the 
United States, independent of recent insuhs to this government and 
people by the late extraordinary Mexican Minister, v/ould justify, in the 
eyes of all nations, immediate war." In a spirit of kindness and for- 
bearance, however, he recommended reprisals as a milder mode of 
redress. Ho declared that war should not be used as a remedy "by 
just and generous nations, confiding in their strength, for injuries com- 
mitted, if it can be honorably avoided ;" and added, "It has occurred 
to me that, considering the present embarrassed condition of that coun- 
try, we should act with both wisdom and moderation, by givintr to 
Mexico one more opportu.nity to atone for the past, before we take 
redress into our own hands. To avoid all misconception on the part 
of Mexico, as we!! as to protect our own national character from 
rej)roach, this opportunity should be given, witti the avowed design and 
full preparation to take immediate satisfaction, if it should not be ob- 
tained on a repetition of the deuiand for it. To tliis end, I recommend 
that an act be passed authorizing reprisals, and the use of the naval 
force of the United States, by the Executive, against Mexico, to enforce 
them in the event of a refusal by the Mexican Government to come to 
an amicable adjustment of tlie matters in controversy between us, upon 
another demand thereof made from on ])oard one of our vessels of war 
upon the coast of Mexico." 

Committees of botli Houses of Congress, to which tliis Messao-e of 
chis President was referred, fully sustained his views of the character 
of the wrongs which we liad suffered from Mexico, and recommended that 
another demand for redress should be made before authorizino- v.-ar or 
reprisals. The Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, in their 
report, say: "After suc^- a demand, should prompt justice be refused 
by the Mexican Government, we may appeal to all nations, not only 
for the equity and moderation with which we shall have acted toward 
a sister republic, but for the necessity which will then compel us to 
seek redress for*our wrongs, either by actual war or by reprisals. The 
subject will then be presented before Congress, at the commencement 
-of the next session, in a clear and distinct tbrm ; and the Committee 
cannot doubt but that such measures wil! be immediately adopted a« 
may be necessary to vindicate the honor of the country, and insure 
ample reparation to our injured citizens." 

The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
made a similar recommendation. In their report, they say that " they 
fully concur with the President, that ample cause exists for taking 
redress into our own hands, and beheve that we should be justified in 
the opinion of other nations for taking such a step. But they are will- 



360 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

ing to try the experiment of another demand, made in the most solemn 
form, upon tlie justice of the Mexican Government, before any fur- 
ther proceedings are adopted." 

No difference of opinion upon the subject is believed to have existed 
.in Congress at that time; the Executive and Legislative departments 
concurred ; and yet such has been our forbearance, and desire to pre- 
serve peace with Mexico,' that the wrongs of which we then complained, 
and which gave rise to these solemn proceedings, not only remained 
unredressed to this day, but additional causes of complaint, of an 
aggravated character, have ever since been accumulating. 

Shortly after these proceedings, a special messenger was despatched 
to Mexico, to make a final demand for redress ; and on the twentieth of 
July, 1837, the demand was made. The reply of the Mexican Govern- 
ment bears date on the twenty-ninth of the same month, and contains 
assurances of the '■ anxious wish" of the Mexican Government " not 
to delay the moment of that final and equitable adjustment, which is 
to terminate the existing difficulties between the two governments;" 
that "nothing should be left undone, which may contribute to the 
most speedy and equitable determination of the subjects which have so 
seriously engaged the attention of the American Government ;" that 
the 'Mexican Government would adopt, as the only guides for its con- 
duct, the plainest principles of public right, the sacred obligations im- 
posed by international law. and the religious faith of treaties ;" and that 
'■whatever reason and justice may dictate respecting each case will be 
done." The assurance was further given, that the decision of the 
Mexican Government upon each cause oi' complaint, for which redress 
had been demanded, should be communicated to the Government of the 
United States by the Mexican Minister at Washington. 

These solemn assurances, in answer to our ^mand for redress, were 
disregarded. By making them, however, Mexico obtained further 
delay. President Van Buren, in his annual Message to Congress, of 
the 5th of December, 1837, states, that '• although the larger number" 
of our demands tor redress, and "many of them aggravated cases of 
personal wrongs, have been now for j'ears before the Mexican Go.vern- 
ment, and some of the causes of national complaint, and those of the^ 
most offensive character, admitted of immediate, simple, and satisfac- 
tory replies, it is only within a few days past that any specific com- 
munication in answer to our last demand, made five months ago, has 
been received from the Mexican Minister;" and that '' for not one of 
our public complaints has satisfaction been given or offered ; that but 
one of the cases of personal wrong, has been favorably considered, and 
that but four cases of both descriptions, out of all those formally pre- 
sented, and earnestly pressed, have as yet been decided upon by the 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 361 

Mexican Government." President "Van Buren, believirlg that it would 
be vain to make any further attempt to obtain redress, by the ordinary 
means within the power of the Executive, communicated this opinion 
to Congress, in the Message referred to, in which he said : " On a care- 
ful and deliberate examination of the contents," (of the correspondence 
with the Mexican Government.) " and considering the spirit manifested 
by the Mexican Government, it has become my painful duty to return 
the subject as it now stands, to Congress, to whom it belongs to decide 
upon the time, the mode, and the measure of redress." Had the United 
■States at that time adopted compulsory measures, and taken redress 
into their own hands, all our difficulties with Mexico would probably 
have been long since adjusted, and the existing war have been 
averted. Magnanimity and moderation on our part only had the effect 
to complicate these difficulties, and render an amicable settlement of 
them more embarrassing. That such measures of redress, under similar 
provocations, committed by any of the powerful nations of Europe, 
would have been promptl}^ resorted to l)y the United States, cannot be 
doubted. The national honor, and the preservation of the national 
character throughout the world, as well as our own self-respect, and 
the protection due to our own citizens, would have rendered such a 
resort indispensable. The history of no civilized nation in modern 
times has presented within so brief a period so many wanton attacks 
upon the honor of its flag, and upon the property and persons of its 
citizens, as had at that time been borne by the United States from the 
Mexican authorities and people. But Mexico was a sister republic, on 
the North American continent, occupying a territory contiguous to our 
own,-*ind was in a feeble and distracted condition ; and these Con- 
siderations, it is presumed, induced Congress to forbear still longer. 

Instead of taking redress into our own hands, a new negotiation was 
entered upon, with fair promises on the part of Mexico, but with the 
real purpose, as the event has proved, of indefinitely postponing the 
reparation which we demanded, and which was so justly due. This 
negotiation, after more than a year's delay, resulted in the Convention 
of the eleventh of April, 1839, " for the adjustment of claims of citizens 
of the United States of America upon the Government of the Mexican 
Republic." The joint board of Commissioners created by this Conven- 
tion, to examine and decide upon these claims, was not organized until 
the month of August, 1840, and under the terms of the Convention they 
were to terminate their duties within eighteen months from that time. 
Four of the eighteen months were consumed in prehminary discussions 
on frivolous and dilatory points raised by the Mexican Commissioners ; 
and it was not until the month of December, 1840, that they com- 
menced the examination of the claims of our citizens upon Mexico. 

16 



362 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

Fourteen months only remained to examine and decide upon these 
numerous and complicated cases. In the month of February, 1842, 
the term of the commission expired, leaving many claims undisposed of 
for want of time. The claims which were allowed by the board, and 
by the umpire authorized by the Convention to decide in case of dis- 
atrreement between the Mexican and American 'Commissioners, 
amounted to two millions twenty-six thousand one hundred and thirty- 
nine dollars and thirty-eight cents. There were pending before the 
umpire, when the commission expired, additional claims which had 
been examined and awarded by the American Commissioners, and had 
not been allowed by the Mexican Commissioners, amounting to nine 
hundred and twenty-eight thousand six hundred and twenty-seven 
dollars and eighty-eight cents, upon which he did not decide, alleging 
that his authority had ceased with the termination of the joint com- 
mission. Besides these claims, there were others of American citizens, 
amounting to three million three hundred and thirty-six thousand 
eight hundred and thirty-seven dollars and five cents, which had been 
submitted to the board, and upon which they had not time to decide 
before their final adjournment. 

The sum of two million twenty-six thousand one hundred and thirty- 
nine dollars and sixty-eight cents, which had been awarded to the 
claimants, was a liquidated and ascertained debt due by Mexico, about 
which there could be rto dispute, and which she was bound to pay 
according to the terms of the Convention. Soon after the final awards 
for this amount had been made, the Mexican Government asked for a 
postponement of the time of making payment, alleging that it would be 
inconvenient to make the payment at the time stipulated. In the-spirit 
of forbearing kindness toward a sister republic, which Mexico has so 
long abused, the United States promptly complied with her request. 
A second convention was accordingly concluded between the two 
Governments, on the thirtieth of January, 18-13, which, upon its face, 
declares that " this new arrangement is entered into for the accom- 
modation of Mexico." By the terms of this Convention, all the interest 
due on the awards which had been made in favor of the claim- 
ants under the convention of the eleventh of April, 1839, was to be 
paid to them on the thirtieth of April, 1843, and "the principal of the 
said awards, and the interest accruing thereon," was stipulated to " be 
paid in five years, in equal instalments every three months." Notwith- 
standing this new convention was entered into at the request of Mexico, 
and for the purpose of reheving her from embarrassment, the claimants 
have only received the interest due on the thirtieth of April, 1843, and 
three of the twenty instalments. Although the payment of the sum 
thus liquidated, and confessedly due by Mexico to our citizens as 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 363 

indemnity for acknowledged acts of outrage and wrong, was secured by 
treaty, the obligations of which are ever held sacred by all just nations, 
yet Mexico has violated this solemn engagement by faihng and refusing 
to make the payment. The two instalments due in April and July, 
1844, under the peculiar circumstances connected with them, have been 
assumed by the United States and discharged to the claimants, but 
they are still due by Mexico. But this is not all of which we have just 
cause of complaint. To provide a remedy for the claimants whose 
cases were not decided by the joint commission under the convention 
of April the eleventh, 1839, it was expressly stipulated bj' the sixth 
article of the Convention of the thirtieth of January, 1843, that " a new 
convention shall be entered into for the settlement of all claims of the 
government and citizens of the United States against the republic of 
Mexico, which were not finally decided by the late commission, which 
met in the city of Washington, and of all claims of the government and 
citizens of Mexico against the United States." 

In conformity wit* this stipulation, a third Convention was concluded 
and signed at the city of Mexico, on the twentieth of November, 1843, 
by the plenipotentiaries of the two Governments, by which provision 
was made for ascertaining and paying these claims. In January, 1844, 
this convention was ratified by the Senate of the United States with 
two amendments, which were manifestly reasonable in their character. 
Upon a reference of the amendments proposed to the Government of 
Mexico, the same evasions, difficulties, and delays were interposed, 
which have so long marked the policy of that Government toward the 
United States. It has not even yet decided whether it would or would 
not accede to them, although the subject has been repeatedly pressed 
upon its consideration. 

Mexico has thus violated a second time the faith of treaties, by 
failing or refusing to carry into effect the sixth article of the Conven- 
tion of January, 1843. 

Such is the history of the wrongs which we have suffered and 
patiently endured from Mexico, through a long series of years. So far 
from affording reasonable satisfaction for the injuries and insults we 
had borne, a great aggravation of them consists in the fact, that while 
the United States, anxious to preserve a good understanding with 
Mexico, have been constantly, but vainly, employed in seeking redress 
for past wrongs, new outrages were constantly occurring, which have 
continued to increase our causes of complaint, and to swell the amount 
of our demands. While the citizens of the United States were con- 
ducting a lawful commerce with Mexico, under the guaranty of a 
treaty of" amity, commerce, and navigation," many of them have suf- 
fered all the injuries which would have resulted from open war. This 



364 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

treaty, instead of affording protection to our citizens, has been the 
means of inviting them into the ports of Mexico, that they might be, as 
they have been in numerous instances, plundered of their property and 
deprived of their personal liberty, if they dared insist on their rights. 
Had the unlawful seizures of American property, and the violation of 
the personal Uberty of our citizens, to say nothing of the insults to ou>' 
flag which have occurred in the ports of Mexico, taken place on the high 
seas, they would themselves long since have constituted a state of actuiv 
war between the two countries. In so long sulTering Mexico to "violate 
her most solemn treaty obligations, plunder our citizens of their prop- 
erty, and imprison their persons without affording them any redress, 
we have failed to perform one of the iirst and highest duties which 
every government owes to its citizens; and the consequence has been, 
that many of them have been reduced from a state of affluence to 
bankruptcy. The proud name of American citizen, which ought to 
protect all who bear it from insult antl injury throughout the world, 
has afforded no such protection to our citizens In Mexico. We had 
ample cause of war against Mexico long before the breaking out of 
hostilities. But even then we forbore to take redress into our own 
hands, until Mexico herself became the aggressor, by invading our soil 
in hostile array, and shedding the blood of our citizens. 

Such are the grave causes of complaint on the part of the United 
States against Mexico — causes which existed long before the annexa- 
tion of Texas to the American Union ; and yet, animated by the love 
of peace, and a magnanimous moderation, we did not adoj)t those 
measures of redress which, under such circumstances, are the justified 
resort of injured nations. 

The annexation of Texas to the United States constituted no just 
cause of offence to Mexico. The pretext that it did so is vv'holiy inconsist- 
ent, and irreconcilable with well-authenticated facts connected with the 
revolution by which Texas became independent of Mexico. That this 
may be the more manifest, it may be proper to advert to the causes and 
to the history of the principal events of that revolution. 

Texas constituted a portion of the ancient 'province of Louisiana, 
ceded to the United States by France in the year 1803. In the year 
1819, the United States, by the Florida treaty, ceded to Spain all that 
part of Louisiana within the present limits of Texas ; and Mexico, by 
the revolution which separated her from Spain, and rendered her an 
independent nation, succeeded to the rights of the mother country over 
this territory. In the year 1824, Mexico established a federal consti- 
tution, under which the Mexican republic was composed of a number 
of sovereign States, confederated together in a federal union similar to 
our own. Each of these States had its own executive, legislature, and 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 365 

judiciary, and, for all except federal purposes, was as independent of 
the general government, and that of the other states, as is Pennsyl- 
vania or Virginia under our constitution. Texas and Coaeuila united 
and formed one of these Mexican States. The state constitution which 
they adopted,. and which was approved by the Mexican confederacy, 
asserted that they were " free and independent of the other Mexican 
United States, and of every other power and dominion whatsoever;" 
and proclaimed the great principle of human liberty, that '• the sover- 
eignty of the State resides originally and essentially in the general mass 
of the individuals who compose it." To the government under this 
constitution, as well as to that under the federal constitution, the people 
of Texas owed allegiance. 

Emigrants from foreign countries, including the United States, were 
invited by the colonization laws of the State and of the federal gov- 
ernment, to settle in Texas. Advantageous terms were offered to 
induce them to leave their own Vountry and become Mexican citizens. 
This invitation was accepted by many of our citizens, in the full faith 
that in their new home they would be governed by laws enacted by 
representatives elected by themselves, and that their lives, liberty, and 
property would be protected by constitutional guiwantees similar to 
tliose which existed in the republic they had left. Under a govern- 
ment thus organized, they continued until the year 183,3, when a mili- 
tary revolution broke out in the city of Mexico, which entirely sub- 
verted the federal and state constitutions, and placed a military dic- 
tator at the-head of the government. 

By a sweeping decree of a Congress subservient to the will of the 
dictator, the several state constitutions were abolished, and the States 
themselves converted into mere departments of the Central Government. 
The people of Texas were unwilling to submit to this usurpation. 
Resistance to such tyranny became a high duty. Texas was fully ab- 
solved from all allegiance to the Central Governmeot of Mexico from 
the moment that government had abolished her state constitution, and 
in its place substituted an arbitrary and despotic Central Government. 

Such were the principal causes of the Texan revolution. The people 
of Texas at once determined upon resistance, and flew to arms. In 
the midst of these important and exciting events, however, they did not 
omit to place their liberties upon a secure and permanent Ibundation. 
They elected members to a convention, who, in the month of Blarch, 
1836, issued a formal declaration that their " political connection with 
the Mexican nation has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do 
now constitute a free, sovereign, and independent kkpublic, and 
are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong 
to independent nations." They also adopted for their government a 



366 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

I-iberal republican constitution. About the same time, Santa Anna, 
then the dictator of Mexico, invaded Texas with a numerous army, for 
the purpose of subduing the people, and enforcinir obedience to his 
arbitrary and despotic government. On the twenty-first of April, 183G, 
he was met by the Texan citizen soldiers, and on that day was achieved 
by them the memorable victory of San Jacinto, by which they con- 
quered their independence. Considering the numbers engaged on the 
respective sides, history does not record a more brilliant achievement. 
Santa Anna himself was among the captives. 

In the month of May, 1836, Santa Anna acknowledged, by a treaty 
with the Texan authorities, in tlte most solemn form, " the full, entire, 
and perfect independence of the republic of Texas." It is true he was 
then a prisoner of war, but it is equally true that he had failed to re- 
conquer Texas, and had met with signal defeat; that his authority 
had not been revoked, and that by virtue of this treaty he obtained 
hispersonal release. -By it hostilities \vere suspended, and the army 
which had invaded Texas under his command returned in pursuance 
of this 'arrangement, unmolested, to Mexico. 

From the day that' the battle of San Jacinto was fought until the 
present hour, Bleicico has never possessed the power to reconqu-er 
Texas. In the language of the Secretary of State of the United 
States, in a despatch to our minister in Mexico, under date of the 
eighth of July, 1842, ' Mexico may have chosen to consider, and may 
still choose to consider Texas as having been at all times since 1835, 
and as still continuing, a rebellious province ; but the world has been 
obliged to take a very different view of the matter. Prom the time of 
the battle of San Jacinto, in April, 183G, to the present moment, Texas 
has exhibited the same external signs of national independence as 
Mexico herself, and with quite as much stability of government. Prac- 
tically free and independent, acknowledged as a political sovereignty 
by the principal powers of the world, no hostile foot finding rest within 
her territory for six or seven years, and Mexico herself refraining for 
all that period from any further attempt to re-establish her own author- 
ity over that territory, it cannot but be surprising to find Mr. de Boca- 
ncgra" (the Secretary of Ppreign Affairs of Mexico) " complaining 
that for that whole period citizens of the United States, or its Govern- 
ment, have been favoring the rebels of Texas, and supplying them 
with vessels, ammunition, and money, as if the war for the reduction of 
the province of Taxas had been constantly prosecuted by Mexico, and 
her success prevented by these influences from abroad." In the same 
despatch the Secretary of State affirms that " since 1837 the United 
States have regarded Texas as an independent sovereignty, as much 
as Mexico ; and that trade and commerce with citizens of a govern- 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 367 

ment at war with Mexico cannot, on that account, be regarded as an 
intercourse by which assistance and succor are given to Mexican 
rebels. The whole current of Mr. de Bocanegra's remarks runs in 
the same direction, as if the independence of Texas had not been 
acknowledged. It has been acknowledged — it was acknowledged 
in 1837, against the remonstrance and protest of Mexico ; and most 
of the acts, of any importance, of which Mr. de Bocanegra com- 
plains, flow necessarily from that recognition. He speaks of Texas as 
still being ' an integral part of the territory of the Mexican republic:' 
but he cannot but understand that the United States do not so regard 
it. The real complaint of Mexico, therefore, is, in substance, neither 
more nor less than a complaint against the recognition of Texan inde- 
pendence. It may be thought rather late to repeat that complaint, 
and not quite just to confine it to the United States, to the exemption 
of England, France, and Belgium, unless the United States, having 
been the first to acknowledge the independence of Mexico herself, are 
to be blamed for setting an example tor the recognition of that of 
Texas." And he added, that 'the constitution, public treaties, and 
the laws oblige the President to regard Texas as an independent State, 
and its territory as no part of the territdry of Mexico.' Texas had 
oeen an independent State, with an organized government, defying 
the power of Mexico to overthrow or reconquer her, lor more than ten 
years before Mexico commenced the present war against the United 
States. Texas had given such evidence to the world of her ability to 
maintain her separate exi.stence as an independent nation, that she 
had been formally recognized as such, not only by the United States 
but by several of the principal powers of Europe. These powers had 
entered into treaties of amity, commerce, and navigation with her. 
They had received and accredited her ministers and other diplomatic 
agents at their respective courts, and they had commissioned ministers 
and diplomatic agents on their part to the government of Texas. If 
Mexico, notwith.standing all this, and her utter inability to subdue or 
reconquer Texas, still stubbornly refused to recognize her as an inde- 
pendent nation, she was none the less so on that account. Mexico 
herself had been recognized as an indep(^ndent nation by the United 
States, and by other powers, many years before Spain, of which, be- 
fore her revolution, she had been a colony, would agree to recognize - 
her as such, and yet Mexico was at that time, in the estimation of the 
civilized world, and in fact, none the less an independent power, be-' 
cause Spain still claimed her as a colony. If Spain had continued 
until the present period to iissert that Mexico was one of her colonies, 
in rebelhon against her. this would not have made her so, or changed 
the fact of her independent existence. Texas, at the period of her an-* 



368 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE, 

nexation to the United States, bore the same relation to Mexico that 
Mexico had borne to Spain for many years before Spain acknowledged 
her independence, with this important difference— that, before the an- 
nexation of Texas to the United States was consummated. Mexico her- 
self, by a formal act of her government, had acknowledged the inde- 
pendence of Texas as a nation. It is true, that in the act of recogni- 
' tion she prescribed a condition, which she had no power or authority 
to impose, that Texas should not annex herself to any other power: 
but this could not detract in any degree from the recognition which 
Mexico then made of her actual independence. Upon this plain state- 
ment of facts, it is absurd for Mexico to allege as a pretext for com- 
mencing hostilities against the United States, that Texas is still a part 
of her territory. 

But there are those who, conceding all tliis to be true, assume the 
ground that the true western boundary of Texas is the Nueces^ instead 
of the Rio Grande; and that, therefore, in marching our army to the 
east bank of the latter river, we passed the Texan line, and invaded 
the territory of Jlexico. A simple statement of facts, known to exist, 
will conclusively reiute such an assumption. Texas, as ceded to the 
United States by France, in '1803, has been always claimed as extend- 
ing west to the Kio Grande, or Rio Bravo. This tact is established by 
the authority of our most eminent statesmen at a period when the 
question was as well if not better understood than it is at present. 
During Mr. Jefferson's administration Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney, 
who had been sent on a special mission to Madrid, charged, among 
other things, with the adjustment of lioundary between the two coun- 
tries, in a note addressed to the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
under date of the twenty-eighth of January, 1805, assert that the 
boundaries of Louisiana, as ceded to the United States by France, 
"are the river Perdido on the east, and the river Bravo on the west;" 
and they add, that " tiie facts and principles which justify this conclu- 
sion are so satisfactory to our Government as to convince it tbat the 
United States have not a better right to the island of New Orleans, 
under the cession referred to. than they have to the whole district of 
territory which is above descrihed." 

Down to the conclusion of the Florida treaty in February, 1819, oy 
which this territory was ceded to Spain, tiie United States assertet' 
and maintained their territorial rights to tliis e.xtent In the month of 
June, 1818, during Mr. Monroe's administrMtitm information havinir 
been received that a number of foreign adventurers had liinded at Gal- 
veston, with the avowed purpose of forming a setlli-ment in that vicinity, 
a special messenger was despatched by the Government of the United 
States, with instructions from the Secretary of State to warn them to 



SKCOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 369 

desist, should they be found there '^or any other place north of the 
Rio Bravo, and within the territory claimed bvthe United States." He 
was instructed, should they be found in the country north of that river, 
to make known to them '• the surprise with which the President has 
seen possession thus taken, without authority from the United States 
of a place within their territorial limits, and upon which no lawful 
settlement can be made without their sanction." He was instructed 
to call upon them to " avow under what national authority they pro- 
.tcss to act," and to give them due warning v^hat the place is within 
the United States, who will suffer no permanent settlement to be made 
there, under any authority other than their own." As late as the 
eighth of July, 1842, the Secretary of State of the United States, in a 
note addressed to our minister in Mexico, maintains that, by the Florida 
treaty of 1811), the territory as far west as the Rio Grande was con- 
firmed to Spain. In that note he states that, " by the treaty of the 
twenty-second of February, ISI'J, between the United States and 
Spain, the Sabine was adopted as the line of boundary between the 
two powers.. Up to that period, no considcrabin colonization had been 
effected in Texas; but the territory between uie Sabine and the Rio 
Grande being confirmed to Spain by t!.u treaty, applications were made 
to that power for grants of land, and such grants, or permissions of 
settlement, were in fact made by the Spanish authorities in favor of 
citizens of t;,c Unit^.l Sutes proposing to emigrate to Texas in numer- 
ous faniil.cs, beforo the declaration of independence by Mexico." 

The Texiis which was ceded to Spain by the Florida treaty of 1819 
embraced all the country now claimed by the State of Texas between 
the Nueces and the Rio. Grande. The republic of Texas always 
claimed this river as her western boundary, and in her treaty made 
with Santa Anna, in May, 1836, he recognized it as such. 

By the Constitution which Texas adopted in March, 183G, senatorial 
and representative districts were organized extending west of the 
Nueces.. The Congress of Texas, on the nineteenth of D'ecember, 1836, 
passed an "Act to define the boundaries of the Republic of Texas," in 
wjiich they declared the Rio Grande from its mouth to its source to be 
their boundary, and by the said act they extended their - civil and political 
jurisdiction" over the country up to that boundary. During a period 
of more than nine years, which intervened between the adoption of her 
Constitution and her .annexation as one of the States of our Union, 
Texas asserted and exercised many acts of sovereignty and jurisdiction 
over the territory and inhabitants west of the Nueces. She organized 
and defined the limits of counties extending to the Rio Grande" She 
established courts of justice, and extended her judicial system over the 
territory. She established a custom-house, and collected duties and 
. 16* 



370 SECOXD ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

also post-offices and post- roads in it. She established a land office, 
and issued numerous grants for land wiihin its limits. A Senator and 
Representative residing in it were elected to the Congress of the repub- 
lic, and served as such before the act of annexation took place. In 
both the Congress and Convention of Texas, which gave their assent 
to the terms of annexation to the United States, proposed by our Con- 
gress, were representatives residing west of the Nueces, who took pari 
in the act of annexation itself. This was the Texas which, by the act 
of our Congress of the tVTcnty-ninth 6f December, 1845, was admitted 
as one of the States of our Union. That the Congress of the United 
States understood the State of Texas which they admitted into the 
Union to extend beyond the Nueces is apparent from the fact, that on 
the thirty-first day of December, 1845, only two days after the act of 
admission, they passed a law "to establish a collection district in the 
State of Texas," l)y which they created a port of dehvery at Corpus 
Christi, situated west of the Nueces, and being the same point at which 
the Texas custom-house, under the laws of that republic, had been 
located, and directed that a surveyor to collect the revenue should be 
appointed for that port by the President, by and withthe advice and 
consent of the Senate. A surveyor was accordingly nominated, and 
confirmed by the Senate, and has been ever since in the performance 
of his duties. All these acts of the republic of Texas, and of our Con- 
gress, preceded the orders for the advance of our army to the east bank of 
the Rio Grande. Subsequently, Congress passed an act " establishing 
certain post routes," extending west of the Nueces. The country 
west of that river now constitutes a part of one of the Congression:il 
districts of Texas, and is represented in the House of Representatives. 
The Senators from that State were chosen by a legislature in which the 
country west of that river was represented. In view of all these facts, 
it is difficult to conceive upon what grounds it can be maintained that, 
in occupying the country west of the Nueces with our army, with a 
view solely to its security and defence, we invaded the territory of 
Mexico. But it would have been still more difficult to justify the Ex- 
ecutive, whose duty it is to see that the law be faithfully executed, if, 
in the face of all these proceedings, both of the Congress of Texas and 
of the United States, he had assumed the responsibility of yielding up 
tiie territory west of the Nueces to Mexico, or of refusing to protect and 
defend this territory and its inhabitants, including Corpu.s Christi, as 
well as the remainder of Texas, against the threatened Mexican 
invasion. 

But Mexico herself has never placed the war which she has waged 
upon the ground that our army occupied the intermediate territory 
between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. Her refuted pretension, that 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 371 

Texas was not an independent State, but a rebellious province, was 
obstinately persevered in ; and her avowed purpose in commencing 
a war with the United States was to reconquer Texas, and to restore 
Mexican authority over the whole territory— not to the Nueces alone, 
but to. the Sabine. In vie%y of the proclaimed menaces of Mexico to 
this effect, I deemed it my duty, as a measure of precaution and defence, 
to order our army to occupy a position on our frontier as a military 
post, from which our troops could best resist and repel any attempted 
invasion which Mexico might make. 

Our army had occupied a position at Corpus Christi, west of the 
Nueces, as early as August, 1815, without complaint from any quarter. 
Had the Nueces been regarded as the true western "boundary of Texas, 
that boundary had been passed by our army many months before it ad- 
vanced to the eastern bank of the Rio Grande. In my annual Mes- 
sage of December last, I informed Congress that, upon the invitation of 
both the Congress and Convention of Texas, I had deemed it proper 
to order a strong squadron to the coast of Mexico, and to concentrate 
an efficient military force on the western frontier of Texas, to protect 
and defend the inhabitants against tlie menaced invasion of Mexico. 
In that Message I informed Congress that the moment the terras of 
annexation offered by the United States were accepted by Texas, the 
latter became so far a part of our own country as to make it our duty 
to afford such protection and defence; and that for that purpose our 
squadron had been ordered to the Gulf, and our army to " take a posi- 
tion between the Nueces and the Del Norte," or Rio Grande, and "to 
repel any invasion of the Texan territory which might be attempted by 
the Mexican forces." 

It was deemed proper to issue this order, because soon after the 
iresident of Texas, in April, 1845, had issued his proclamation con- 
vening the Congress of that Republic, for the purpose of submitting to 
that body the terms of annexation proposed by the United States, 
ihe Government of Mexico made serious threats of invading the Texan 
territory. 

These threats became more imposing as it became more apparent, in 
the progress of the question, that the people of Texas would decide in 
favor of accepting the terms of annexation ; and, finally, they had as- 
sumed such a formidable character, as induced both the Congress and 
Convention of Texas to request that a military force should be sent by 
the United States into her territory, for the purpose of protection and 
defending her against the threatened invasion. It would have been a 
violation of good faith toward the people of Texas to have refused to 
afford the aid which they desired against a threatened invasion, to 
which they had been exposed by their free determination to annex 



372 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

themselves to our Union, in compliance with the overture made to them 
by the joint resolution of our Congress. 

Accordingly, a portion of the army was ordered to advance into 
Texas. Corpus Christi was the position selected by General Taylor. 
He encamped at that place in August, 1845, and the army remained in 
that position until the 11th of March, 1846, when it moved westward, 
and on the 28th of that month, reached the east bank of the Rio 
Grande, opposite to Matamoras. This movement was made in pursu- 
ance of orders from the War Department, issued on the L3th of Janu- 
ary, 184G. Before these orders were issued, the despatch of our 
Minister in Mexicc^, transmitting the decision of the Council of Gov- 
ernment of Mexico, advising that he should not be received, and also 
the despatch of our consul residing in the city of Mexico — the former 
bearing date on the 17th, and the latter on the- 18th of December, 1815, 
.copies of both of which accompanied my Message to Congress of the 
11th of May last— were received at the Department of State. These 
communications rendered it highly probable, if not absolutely certain, 
that our Minister would not be received by the Government of General 
Herrera. It was also well known that but little hope could be enter- 
tained of a difl'erent result from General Paredes, in case the revolu- 
tionary movement which he was prosecuting should prove successful, 
as was highly prol)able. The partisans of Paredes, as our Minister, in 
the despatch referred to, states, breathed the fiercest hostihty against 
the United Stateg, denounced the proposed negotiation as treason, and 
openly called upon the troops and the people to put down the Gov- 
ernment of Herrera by force. The re-conquest of Texas and war witii 
the United States were openly threatened. These were the circum- 
stances existing, when it was deemed proper to order the army under 
the command of General Taylor to advance to the western frontier of 
Texas, and occupy a position on or near the Rio Grande. 

The apprehensions of a contemplated Mexican invasion have been 
since fully justified by the event. The determination of Mexico to 
rush into hostilities with the United States was al'terward manifested, 
from the whole tenor of the note of the Mexican Minister of Foreign 
Affairs to our Minister, bearing date on the 12lh of March, 1846. 
Paredes had then revolutionized the Government, and his Minister, 
after referring to the resolution for the annexation of Texas, which had 
been adopted by our Congress in March, 1845, proceeds to declare that 
"a fact such as this, or, to speak with greater exactness, so notable an 
act of usurpation, created an imperious necessity that Mexico, for her 
own honor, should repel it with proper firmness and dignity. The Su- 
■_ preme Government had beforehand declared that it would look upon 
Buch an act as a casiis belli, and, as a consequence of this declaration, 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 373 

nfwotiation was. by its very nature, at an end, and war was tlie only 
n-'-Durse of the Mexican Government." 

It appears, also, that on the -Ith of April followintr. General Paredes, 
throijirh his Minister of War, issued orders to the Mexican general in 
coniiu'.nd on the Texan frontier, to 'attack" our army "by every 
means wiiich war permits." To this General Paredes had been pledjrcd 
to the a'iny and people, of Mexico during the military revolution which 
had broiijht him into power. On the 18th of April. 1811"), General 
Paredes :iddresfied a letter to the commander on that frontier, in which 
he slated to him, 'at the present date, I suppose you at the head of 
that valiant army, either fighting already, or preparing for tlie opera- 
tions of a campaign;" and, "supposing you already on the theatre of 
operationfi, and with all the forces assembled, it is indispensable 
tliat hostilities be coiiiDicnccd yourself takijig the initiative against th« 
enemy.' 

The movement of our army to the Rio Grande was made by the 
commanding general, under positive orders to abstain from all ag- 
gressive acts toward Mexico, or Mexican citi/.ens, and to regard the 
relations between^he two countries as peaceful, unless Mexico should 
declare war or commit acts of h-ostility indicative of a state of war; and 
these orders he faith fuRy executed. Whilst occupying his position on 
the east bank of the Rio Grande within the limits of Texas then re- 
crnlly admitted as one of the States of our Unson the commanding 
general of the Mexican forces, who. in pursuance of the orders of his 
Government, had collected a large army on the opposite shore of the 
Rio Grande, crossed the river, invaded our territory, and commenced 
hostilities by attacking our Ibrces. 

Thus, after all the injuries which we had received and borne from 
Mexico and after she had insullingJy rejf'cted a Minister sent to her 
on a niis.sion of peace, and v^hom she had solemnly agreed to receive, 
she consiammated her long course of outrage against our country by 
commencing an offensive war, and shedding the blood of our own 
citizens on our own soil. 

The United States never attempted to acquire Texas by conquest. 
On the contrary, at an ear'y period after the people of Texas had 
achieved their independence, they sought to be annexed to the United 
States. At a general election in September, 1S35, they decided with 
great unanimity in favor of "annexation;" and in November follow- 
ing, the Congress of the Republic authorited the appointment of ai 
Minister, to bear their request to this Government. The Government, 
however, having remained neutral between Texas and Mexico during 
the war between ttlem, and considering it due to the honor of our 
country, and our fair fame among the nations of the earth, that we 



374 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

should not at this early period consent to annexation, nor until ii 
[hould be manifest to the whole world that the reconquestof Texas by 
Mexico was impossible, refused to accede to the overtures made by 
Texas. On the twelfth of April, 1841, and after more than seven years 
had elapsed since Texas had establislied her independence, a treaty 
was concluded for the annexation of that republic to the United States, 
which was rejected by the Senate. Finally, on the first of March, 1815, 
Congress passed a joint resolution for annexing her to the United 
States, upon certain preliminary conditions to which her assent was 
required. The solemnities which characterized the deliberations and 
conduct of the CJoverninent and people of Texas, on the deeply inter- 
esting questions presented by these resolutions, are known to the world. 
The Congress, the Executive, and the people of Texas, in a Conven- 
tion elected for that purpose, accepted with great unanimity the pro- 
posed terms of annexation ; and thus consummated, on her part, the 
great act of restoring to our federal Union a vast territory which had 
been cedeil to Spain by the Florida treaty, more than a quarter of a 
century before. 

After the joint resolution for the annexation of Texas to the United 
States had been passed by our Congress, the Mexican Minister at 
Washington addressed a note to the Secretary of State, bearing date 
on the sixth of March, 1815, protesting against it as •' an act of aggres- 
sion, the most unjust which can be found recorded in the annals of 
modern history; namely, that of despoiling a friendly nation, like 
3Iexico, of a considerable portion of her territory;" and protesting 
against the resolution of annexation, as being an act '• whereby the 
province of Texas, an integral portion of the Mexican territory, is 
agreed and admitted into the American Union;" and he announced 
that, as a consequence, his mission to the United States had terminated, 
and demanded his passports, which were granted. It was upon tho 
absurd pretext, made by Mexico, (herself indebted for her independ- 
ence to a successful revolution.) that the republic of Texas still con- 
tinued to be, notwithstanding all that had passed, a province of Mexico, 
that this step was taken by the Mexican Minister. 

Every honorable effort has been used by me to avoid the v/ar which 
followed, but all have proved vain. All our attempts to preserve peace 
have been met by insult and resistance on the part "of Mexico. My 
efforts to this end commenced in the note of the Secretary of State of 
the 10th of March, 1815, in answer to that of the Mexican Minister. 
Whilst declining to reopen a discussion which had already been ex- 
hausted, and proving again what was known to the whole world, that 
Texas had long since achieved her independence, the Secretary of 
State expressed the regret of this Government that Mexico should have 



SRCOND ANNUAL MESSAGE, 375 

taken offence at the resolution of annexation passed by Congress, and 
pave assurance that " our most strenuous efforts shall be devoted to 
the amicable adjustment of every cause of complaint between the two 
Governments, and to the cultivation of the kindest and most friendly 
relations between the sister republics." . 

That I have acted in the spirit of this assurance, will appear from 
the events which have since occurred. Notwithstanding Mexico had 
abruptly terminated all diplomatic intercourse with the United States, 
and ought, therefore, to have been the first to ask for its resumption, 
yet, waiving all ceremony, I embraced the earliest favorable opportu- 
nity "to ascertain from the Mexican Government whether they would 
receive an envoy from tlie United States intrusted with full power to 
adjust all the questions in dispute between the two Governments." In 
September. 184.5, I believed the propitious moment for such an overture 
had arrived. Texas by the enthusiastic and almo.st unanimous will 
of her people, had pronounced in favor of annexation. Blexico her- 
self had agreed to acknowledge the independence of Texas subject to 
n condition, it is true; which she had no right to impo.se, and no power 
to enforce. The last lingering hope of Mexico, if she still could havn 
retained any, that Texas would ever again become one of her prov- 
inces, must have been abandoned. 

The consul of the United States at the citv of Mexico was, thprc- 
fore, instructed by the Secretary of State. on the filleenth of Septem- 
ber, 1845, to make the inquirv of the Mexican Government. The in- 
quiry was made, ami on thf. '"iiteentli oi".().-f<)'> r, iSl') the Minister of 
Foreign Affairs of the Mexi -an Govern m-iit, in a note addressed to 
our consul, gave a frtvoriihlr- respoiis.; nqmsling, at the same time, 
tiiat our naval force mig'.it b- with lrivvr» fr^i n Vera Cruz while necro- 
tiations should be pending. Upon the receipt of this note our naval 
force was promptly withdrawn from Vera Hruj. A Minister was im- 
mediately appointed, ami depart.?d (o M''xi.'o. Everyrhing bore a 
promising aspect for a speedy and peaceful M.ljiistiiient of all our dilTi- 
culties. At the date of my annu il mes.-j i;re to Cnn^iress, in December 
la.st, no doubt was entertained but thnt he wouij he received by th( 
Mexican Government, and t!ie hnp-w.is olirris'n-d that ail cause of 
misunderstanding between the two (Munlries woiilil be speedily re- 
moved. In the confident hop- thit sir-h would lu; the result of hi^ 
mi.ssion, I informed Congress tliat I forbtire at that time to '■ recommend 
such ulterior measures of reiiress for the wrongs and injuries we had 
so long borne, as it would h;ive l)eeii priip-u- to make had no such ne- 
gotiation been instituted." To my surprise and regret, the Mexican 
Government, though solemnly p!eil;rp,! lo ijo g,) upon the arrival of our 
Minister in Mexico, relbsid to receive and accredit him. When he 



376 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. - 

reached Vera Cruz, on the thirteenth of November, 1815, he faund 
that the aspect of affairs had undergone an unhappy change. The 
government of General Herrera, who was at that time President of 
the repubUc, was tottering to its fall. General Paredes (a military 
leader) had manifested his determination to overthrow the government 
of Herrera by a military revolution ; and one of the principal means 
which he employed to effect his purpose, and render the government 
of Herrera odious to the army and the people of Mexico, was by 
loudly condemning its determination to receive a minister of peace 
from the United States, alleging that it was the intention of Herrera, 
by a treaty with the United States, to dismember the territory of Mex- 
ico, by ceding away the department of Texas. The government of 
Herrera is believed to have been wcl! disposed to a pacific adjustment 
of existing difficulties; but, probably alarmed for its own security, and 
in order to ward off the danger of the" revolution led by Paredes. vio- 
lated its solemn agreement, and refused to receive or accredit our Min- 
ister; and this, although infor.ned that he had been invested with full 
power to adjust all questions in dispute between the two Governments. 
Among thi; frivolous pretexts for this refusal the principal one was that 
our Minister had not gone upon a special 1 mission, confined to the ques- 
tion of Texas alone, leaving all the outrages upon our flag and our 
citizens unredressed. Tiie Mexican Government well knew that both 
our national honor and the protection di'e to our citizens imperatively 
required that the two questions of bouna .ry and indemnity should be 
treated of together, as naturally and i;i.separably blended, and they 
ought to have seen that this course wms in-st calculated to enable the 
United States to extend to them the most lil)eral justice. On the 
thirtieth of DecP!)ib.-r 1815 General Henera resigned the presidency, 
and yielded up the Government to General Paredes without a struggle. 
Thus a revolution was accomplished .solely by the army commanded 
by Paredes. and the supreme power in Mexico passed into the hands 
of a military usurper, who was known to be bitterly hostile to the 
United States. 

.Altbongli the prospect of a pieitlc adjustment with the new Govern- 
ment was unpro:iiisin-i fn' ;, the known hostility of its head to the 
United States yet. determined that nothing should be left undone on 
our part to restore friendly relations between the two countries our 
Minister was instructed to present his credentials to the new Govern- 
ment and ask to be accredited by it in the diplomatic character in 
which he had been commissioned. These instructions lie executed by 
his note of the first of March. 184o. ad. ire -^--d to the Mexican :\Iiiiister 
of ForeiL'n Affairs but his request was iirsulliuirly refused tiy thai 
Minister in his an.^vver of t!je twelfth of the sau)e montli. No alterna- 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 377 

tive remained for our Minister but to demand his passports, and return 
to the United States. 

Thus was the extraordinary spectarle presented to the civilized world, 
of a Government, in violation of its own express agreement, havinir 
twice rejected a minister of peace, invested with Cull powers to adjust 
all the existing dilTerences between the two countries in a manner just 
and honorable to both. I am not aware that modern history presents 
a parallel case, in which, in timeof peace, one nation has refused even 
to hear propositions from another lor terminating existing difficulties 
between them. Scarcely a hope of adjusting our diffieulties, even at 
ft remote day. or of preserving peace with Mexico, could be cherished 
while Paredes remained at the head of the Government. He had ac- 
quired the supreme power by a military revolution, and upon the most 
solemn pledges to wage war against the United States, and to recon- 
quer Texas, which he claimed as a revolted province of Mexico. He 
Had denounced as guilty of treason, all those Mexicans who considered 
Texas as no longer constituting a part of the territory of Mexico, and 
who were friendly to the cause of peace. The duration of the war 
which he waged against the United States was indefinite, because the 
end which he proposed, of the rcconqucst of Texas, was hopeless. 
Besides, there was good reason to believe, from all his conduct, that it 
WPS his intention lo convert the reptildic of Mexico into a monarchy, 
and to call a foreign European prince to the throne. Preparatory to 
this end, he had, during his short rule, destroyed the liberty of the 
press, tolerating that portion of it only which openly advocated the 
establishment of a monarchy. The better to secure the success of his 
ultimate designs, he had, by an arbitrary decree, convoked a Congress 
—not to be elected by the free voice of the people, but to be chosen in 
a manner to make them subservient to his will, and to give him abso- 
lute control over their deliberations. 

Under all these circumstances, it was believed that any revolution in 
Mexico, founded upon opposition to the ambit^us projects of Paredes, 
would tend to promote the cause of peace as well as to prevent and at- 
tempted European interference in the affairs of the North American 
continent— both objects of deep interest to the United States. Any 
such foreign interference, if attempted, must have been resisted by the. 
United States. My views upon that subject were fully communicated 
to CongFess in my last annual message. In any event, it was certain 
that no change whatever in the Government of Mexico which would 
deprive Paredes of power could be for the worse, so far as the United 
States were concerned, while it was highly probable that any change 
must be for the' better. This was the state of affairs existing when 
Congress on the thirteenth of May last, recognized the existence of the 



378 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

war which had been commenced by the government of Parcdcs, anJ 
it became an object of much importance, with a view to a speedy set- 
tlement of our difficulties and the restoration of an honorable peace, 
that Paredes should not retain power in Mexico. 

Before that time there were symptoms of a revolution in Mexico, 
favored, as it was understood to be, by the more liberal party, and 
especially by those who were opposed to foreign interference and to 
the monarchical form of government. Santa Anna was then in exile in 
Havana, having been expelled from power and banished from his 
country by a revolution which occurred in December, 1841 ; but it was 
known that he had still a considerable party in his favor in Mexico. 
It was also equally well known that no vigilance which could be ex- 
erted by our squadron would, in all probability, have prevented him 
from efi'ecting a landing somewhere on the extensive gulf coast of 
Mexico, if he desired to return to his country. He had openly pro-, 
fessed an entire change of policy ; had expressed his regret that he 
had subverted the federal constitution of 1824, and avowed that he 
was now in favor of its restoration. He had publicly declared his hos- 
tility, in the strongest terms, to the establishment of a monarchy, and 
to European interference in the affairs of his country. 

Information to this effect had been received, from sources believed to 
be reliable, at the date of the reroirnition of the existence of the wnr 
by Congress, and was afterwards fully confirmed by the receipt of the 
despatch of our consul in the city of IMexico, with the accompanying 
documents, which are herewith transmitted. Besides, it was reasonable 
to suppose that he mu.st see the ruinous consequences to Mexico of a 
war with the United States, and that it would be his interest to favor 
peace. 

It was under these circumstances and upon these considerations that 
it was deemed expedient not to obstruct his return to Mexico, should he 
attempt to do so. Our object was the restoration of peace, and with 
that view, no reason was perceived why we should take part with Pa- 
redes, and aid him, by means of our blockade, in preventing the return 
of his rival to Mexico. On the contrary, it was believed that the intes- 
tine divisions which ordinary sagacity could not but anticipate as the 
fruit of Santa Anna's return to Mexico, and his contest with Paredes, 
might strongly tend to produce a disposition with both parties to restore 
and preserve peace with the United States. Paredes was a soldier by 
profession, and a monarchist in principle. He had but recently before 
been successful in a military revolution, by which he had obtained 
power. He was the sworn enemy of the United States, with which he 
had involved his country in the existing war. Santa Anna had been 
expelled from power by the army, was known to be in open hostility to 



SKCONU AXXUAL MESSAGE. 379 

Paredes, anil publicly pledged against foreign intervention, and the 
restoration of monarchy in Mexico. In view of these facts and cir- 
cumstances it was, that, vvhen orders were issued to t!ie commander of 
our naval forces in the Gulf on tlie fifteenth day of May last, only two 
days after the existence of tlie war had been recognized by Congress, 
to place the coasts' of Mexico under b'ockade, he was directed not to 
obstruct the passage of Santa Anna to Mexico, should he attempt to 
return. 

A revolution took place in Mexico in the early part of August fol- 
lowing by which the power of Paredes was overthrown, and he has 
since been banished from the country, and is now in exile. Shortly 
afterwards Santa Anna returned. It remains to be seen whether his 
return may not j'et prove to be favorable to a pacific adjustment of the 
existing difficulties, it being manifestly his interest not to persevere in 
the prosecution of a war commenced by Paredes, to accomplish a pur- 
pose so absurd as the reconquest of Texa.s to the Sabine. Had Pa- 
redes remained in power, it is morally certain that any pacific adjust- 
ment would nave been hopeless. 

Upon the commencement of hostilities by Mexico against the United 
States, the indignant spirit of the nation was at once roused. Con- 
gress promptly responded to the expectations of the country, and, by 
the act of the thirteenth of May last, recognized the fact that war ex- 
isted, by the act of Mexico, between the United States and that repub- 
lic, and granted the means necessary for its vigorous prosecution. Be- 
incr involved in a war thus commenced by Mexico, and for the justice 
of which on our part we may confidently appeal to the whole world, I 
resolved to prosecute it with the utmost vigor. Accordingly the ports 
of Mexico on the Gulf and on the Pacific have been placed under 
blockade, and her territory invaded at several important points. The 
report from the Departments of War, and the Navy, will inform you 
more in detail of the measures adopted in the emergency in which our 
country was placed, and of the gratifying results which have been ac- 
complished. 

The various columns of the army have performed their duty under 
great disadvantages, with the most distmguished skill and courage. 
The victories of Palo Alto, and Resaca de la Palma, and of Monterey, 
won against greatly superior numbers, and against most decided ad- 
vantages in other respegts on the part of the enemy, were brilhant in 
their execution, and entitle our brave officers and soldiers to the grate- 
ful thanks of their country. The nation deplores the loss of the brave 
officers and men who have gallantly fallen while vindicating and de- 
fending their country's rights and honor. 

It is a subject of pride and satisfaction that our volunteer citizen 



380 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

soldiers, who so promptly responded to their country's call, with an ex- 
perience of the discipline of a camp of only a few weeks, have borne 
their part in the hard-fought battle of Monterey with a constancy and 
courage equal to that of veteran troops, and worthy of the highest ad- 
miration. The privations of long marches through the enemy's coun- 
try, and through a wilderness, have been borne without a murmur. 
Bv rapid movements the province of New Mexico, with Santa Fe, its 
capital, has been captured without bloodshed. The navy has co-oper- 
at!.d with the army, and rendered important services; if not so brilliant, 
it is because the enemy had no force to meet them on their own ele- 
ment, and because of the defences which nature has interposed in the 
diiriculties of the navigation on the Mexican coast. Our squadron in 
the Pacific, with the co-operation of a gallant officer of the army, and 
a small force hastily collected in that<iistant country, have acquired 
bloodless possession of the Californias, and the American flag has been 
raised at every important point in that province. 

I concrratulate you on the success which has thus attended our mili- 
tary and naval operations. In less than seven months after Mexico 
commenced hostilities, at a time selected by herself, we have taken pos- 
session of many of her principal ports, driven back and pursued her 
invading army, and acquired military possession of the Mexican prov- 
inces of New Mexico, New Leon. Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and the 
Calitbrnias, a territory larger in extent than that embraced in the orig- 
inal thirteen States of the Union, inhabited by a considerable popula- 
tion, and much of it more than a thousand miles from the points at 
which we had to collect our forces and commence our movements. By 
the blockade the import and export trade of the enemy has been cut off. 
Well may the American people be proud of the energy and gallantry 
of our regular and volunteer officers and soldiers. The events of these 
few months afford a gratifying proof that our country can, under any 
emergency, confidently rely for the maintenance of her honor, and the 
defence of her rights, on an effective force, ready at all times volunta- 
rily to relinquish the comforts of home for the perils and privations of 
the camp. And though such a force may be for the time expensive, it 
is in the end economical, as the abiUty to command it removes the ne- 
cessity of employing a large standing army in time of peace, and proves 
that our people love their institutions, and are ever ready to defend 
and protect tlrem. 

Whilst the war was in a course of vigorous l&nd successful prosecu- 
tion, being still anxious to arrest its evils, and considering that, after 
the briHiant victories of our arms on the eighth and ninth of May la.st, 
the national honor could not be compromitted by it, another overture 
was made to Mexico, by my direction, on the 27th of July last, to ter- 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 381 

minate hostilities by a peace just and honorable to both countries. On 
tiie thirty-first of August following, the Mexican Government declined 
to accept this friendly overture, biit referred it to the decision of a 3Iex- 
ican Congress, to be assembled in the early part of the present month. 
I communicate to you herewith a copy of the letter of the Secretary of 
State proposing to reopen negotiations, of the answer of the Mexican 
Government, and of the reply thereto of the Secretary of State. 

The war will continue to be prosecuted with vigor, as the best means 
of securing peace. It is hoped that the decision of the Mexican Con- 
greae, to which our last overture has been referred, may result in a 
speedy and honorable peace. With our experience, however, of the 
unreasonable course of the Mexican authorities, it is the part of wisdom 
not to relax in the energy of our military operations until the result is 
made known. In this view, it is deemed important to hold military 
possession of all the provinces which have been taken, until a definitive 
treaty of peace shall have been concluded and ratified by the two 
countries. • 

The war has not been waged with a view to conquest ; but having 
lieen commenced by Mexico, it has been carried into the enemy's coun- 
try, and will be vigorously prosecuted there, with a view to obtain an 
honorable peace, and thereby secure ample indemnity for the expenses 
of the war. as well as to our much-injured citizens, who hold larffe 
pecuniary demands against Mexico. 

By the laws of nations a co/iquered territory is subject to be governed 
by the conqueror during his military possession, and until there is either 
a treaty of peace, or he shall voluntarily withdraw from it. The old 
civil Government being necessarily superseded, it is the right and duty 
of the conqueror to secure his conquest, and to provide for the mainte- 
nance of civil order and the rights of the inhabitants. This right has 
been exercised, and this duty performed, by our military and naval 
commanders, by the establishment of temporary governments in some 
of the conquered provinces in Mexico, assimilating them as far as prac- 
ticable to the free institutions of our own country. In the provinces 
of New Mexico, and of the Californias, little if any further resistance 
is apprehended from the inhabitants to the temporary governments 
which have thus, from the neces.sity of the case, and accordintr to the 
laws of war. been established. It may be proper to provide for the 
security of these important conquests by making an adequate appro- 
priation for the purpose of erecting fortifications, and defrayimr the ex- 
penses necessarily incident to the maintenance of our possession and 
authority over them. 

Xear the close of your last session, for reasons communicated to 
Congress, I deemed it important, as a measure for securing a speedy 



382 SECOND AiVNUAL MESSAGE. 

peace with Jlexico, that a sum of money should be appropriated, and 
placed in the power of tlie Executive, similar to tliat which had been 
made upon two former occasions, during the administration of Presi- 
dent Jefferson. 

On the twenty-sixth of February, 18015, an appropriation of two mill- 
ions of dollars was made, and placed at the disposal of the President 
its object is well known. It was at that time in contemplation to ac- 
quire Louisiana from France, and it was intended to be applied as a 
part of the consideration which might be paid for that territory. On 
tlie thirteenth of February, ISOG, the same sum was in like mariYier 
appropriated, with a view to the purchase of the Floridas from Spain. 
Tliese appropriations were made to facilitate negotiations, and as a 
means to enable the President to accomplish the important objects in 
view. Though it did not hecome necessary for tlie President to uso 
tliesc appropriations, yet a state of things might have arisen in which 
it would have been highly important for him to do so. and the wisdom 
of making tliem cannot be doubted. It is helieved that the measure 
recommended at your last session met with the approbation of decided 
majorities in both houses of Congress. Indeed, in different forms, a 
bill making an appropriation of two millions of dollars passed each 
House, and it is much to be regretted that it did not become a law. 
The reasons which induced me to recommend the measure at that time 
still exist; and I again submit the subject for your consideration, and 
suggest the importance of early action upon it. Should the appropria- 
tion be made, and be not needed, it will remain in the treasury; should 
it be deemed proper to apply it in whole or in part, it will be accounted 
for as other public expenditures. 

Immediately after Congress had recognized the existence of the war 
with Mexico, my attention was directed to the danger that privateers 
might be fitted out in the ports of Cuba and Porto Rico to prey upon 
the commerce of the United States; and I invited the special attention 
of the Spanish Government to the fourteenth article of our treaty with 
that power of the twentieth of October, 1795, under which the citizens 
and subjects of either nation who shall take comndssions or letters of 
marque to act as privateers against the other " shall be punished as 
pirates." 

It affords me pleasure to inform you that I have received assurances 
from the Spanish Government that this article of the treaty shall be. 
faithfully observed on its part. Orders for this purpose were immedi- . 
ately transmitted from that Government to the authorities of Cuba and 
Porto Rico to exert their utmost vigilance in preventing any attempts 
to fit out privateers in those islands against the United States. From 
the good faith of Spain I am fully satisfied that this treaty will be exe- 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 383 

cuted in its spirit as well as its letter; whilst the United States will, 
on their part, faithfully perform all the obligations which it imposes on 
them. 

Information has been recently received at the Department of State 
lliat the Mexican Government has sent to Havana blank commis- 
sions to privateers, and blank certificates of naturalization, signed by 
General Sit^as, the present head of the Mexican Government. There 
is also reason to apprehend that similar documents have been trans- 
mitted to other parts of the world. Copies of these papers, in transla- 
linn are herewith transmitted. " 

As the prchuimaries respecting the practice of civilized nations com- 
missioning privateers and regulating their conduct a|)p(;.ir not to liave 
been observed, and as these commi.ssions are in blank to be filled up 
with the names of ciu^i^iis and subjects of all nations who may be 
willing to purchase them, the whole proceeding can only be construed 
as an invitation to all the freebooters upon earth, who are willing to 
pay for the privilege, to cruise against American commerce. It will be 
for our courts of justice to decide whether, under such circumstances, 
tliese Mexican letters of marque and reprisal shall protect those who 
accept tlie.ai, and commit robberies upon the high seas under their 
authority, from the pains and penalties of piracy. 

If the .certificates of naturalization thus granted be intended by 
Mexico to shield Spanish subjects from the guilt and punishment of 
pirates, under our treaty with Spain, they will certainly prove un- 
availing. Such a subterfuge would be but a weak device to defeat the 
provisions of a solemn treatj'. 

I recommend that Congress should immediately provide by law for 
the trial and punishment, as pirates, of Spanish subjects who, escaping 
'.he vigilance of their Government, shall be found guilty of privateering 
otrainst the United States. I do not apprehend serious danger from 
these privateers. Our navy will be constantly on the alert to protect 
our commerce. Besides, in case prizes should be made of American 
vessels, the utmost vigilance will be exerted by our blockading squad- 
ron, to prevent the captors from taking them into Mexican ports, and 
it is not apprehended that any nation will violate its neutrality by 
suffering such prizes to be condemned and sold within its jurisdiction. 

I recommend that Congress should immediately provide by law lor 
granting letters of marque and reprisal against vessels under the Mexi- 
can flag. It is true that there are but few, if any, commercial vessels 
of Mexico upon the high seas ; and it is, therefore, not probable that 
many American privateers would be fitted out, in case a law should 
pass authorizing this mode of warfare. It is, notwithstanding, certain 
that such privateers may render good service to the commercial interests 



384 SECOND ANNUA!, MESSAGE. 

of the country by recapturing our merchant ships, should any be taken 
by armed vessels under the Mexican, flag, as well as by capturing these 
vessels themselves. Every means within our power should be ren- 
dered available for the protection of our commerce. 

The annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury will exhibit a 
detailed statement of the condition of the finances. The imports for 
the fiscal year ending on the thirteenth of June last, were of the value 
of one hundred and twenty-one million six hundred and ninety-one 
thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven dollars ;. of which the amount 
exported was eleven million three hundred and forty-six thousand 
fix hundred and twentj'-three dollars, leaving the amount retained in 
the country for domestic consumption one hundred and ten million 
three hundred and forty-five thousand one hundred and seventy-four 
dollars. The value of the exports for the same period was one hun- 
dred and thirteen million four hundred and eighty-eight thousand five 
hundred and sixteen dollars; of which one hundred and two million 
one hundred and forty-one thousand eight hundreil and ninety-three 
dollars consisted of domestic productions, and eleven million three 
hundred and forty-six thousand six hundred and twenty-tliree dollars 
of foreign articles. 

The receipts into the Treasury for the same year were twenty-nine 
millions four hundred and ninety-nine thousand two hundred and 
forty-seven dollars and six cents ; of which there was derived from cus- 
toms twenty-six million seven hundred and twelve thousand six hundred 
and sixty-seven dollars and eigiity-seven cents ; from sales of public 
lands, two million six hundred and ninety-five thousand four hundred 
and fifty-two dollars and Ibrty-eight cents, and from incidental and 
miscellaneous resources ninety-two thousand one hundred and twenty- 
six dollars and seventy-one cents. The expenditures for the same period 
were twenty-eight million thirty-one thousand eight hundred and four- 
teen dollars and twenty cents, and the balance in the Treasury on the 
first day of July last was nine million one hundred and twenty-six 
thousand four hundred and thirty-nine dollars and eight cents. 

The amount of the public debt, including treasury notes, on the first 
of the present month, was twenty-four million two hundred and fifty- 
six thousand four hundred and ninety-four dollars and sixty cents; of 
which the sum of seventeen million seven hundred and eighty-eight 
thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine dollars and sixty-two cents 
was outstanding on the fourth of March, 1845, leaving the amount in- 
curred since that time, six million four hundred and sixty-seven thou- 
sand six hundred and ninety-four dollars and ninety-eight cents. 

In order to prosecute the war with Mexico with vigor and energy, as 
the best means of bringing it to a speedy and honorable termination, 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 385 

a fhrther loan will be necessary, to meet the expenditures for the present 
and the next fiscal )*ars. If the war should be continued until the 
thntieth of June, 1818— being the end of the next fiscal year— it is 
estimated that an additional loan of twenty-three millions of dollars 
will be required. This estimate is made upon the assumption, that it 
will ()e necessary to retain constantly in the Treasury four millions of 
dollars, to guard against contingencies. If such surplus were not re- 
quired to be retained, then a loan of nineteen millions of dollars would 
be sufficient. If however, Congress should, at the present session, im- 
pose H revenue duty on the principal articles now embraced in the free 
list, it Is estimated that an additional annual revenue of about two mil- 
lions and a half, amounting, it is estimated, on the thirtieth of June, 
1818, to four millions of dollars, would be derived from that source; and 
the loan required would be reduced by that amount. It is estimated, 
also, that should Congress graduate and reduce the price of such of the 
public lands as have been long in the market, the additional revenue 
derived from that source would be annually, for several years to come, 
between half a million and a million of dollars; and the loan required 
may be reduced by that amount also. Should these measures be 
adopted, the loan required would not probably exceed eighteen or 
nineteen millionsof dollars— leaving in the Treasury a constant surplus 
of four millions of dollars. The loan proposed, it is estimated, will be 
sufficient to cover the necessary expenditures, both for the war and for 
all other purposes, up to the thirtieth of June, 1848 ; and an amount 
of this loan, not exceeding one half, may be required during the present 
fiscal year, and the greater part of the rfemainder during the first half 
of the fiscal year succeeding. 

In order that timely notice may be given, and proper measures taken 
to effect the loan, or such portion of it as may be required, it is im- 
portant that the authority of Congress to make it be given at an early 
period of your present session. It is suggested that the loan should be 
contracted for a period of twenty years, with authority to purchase the 
stock and pay it off, at an earlier period, at its market value, out of 
any surplus which may at any time be in the Treasury applicable to 
that purpose. After the estabHshment of peace with Mexico, it is sup- 
posed that a considerable surplus will exist, and that the debt may be 
extinguished in a much shorter period than that for which it may be 
contracted. The period of twenty years as that for which the proposed 
loan may be contracted, in preference to a shorter period, is suggested, 
because all experience, both at home and abroad, has shown that loans 
are effected upon much better terms upon long time, than when they 
are reimbursed at short dates. 

Necessary as this measure is, to sustain the honor and interest of the 
17 



386 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

country, engaged in a foreign war, it is not doubted but that Cungress 
will promptly authorize it. 

The balance in the Treasury on the first of July last exceeded nine 
millions of dollars, notwithstanding considerable expenditures had been 
made for the war during tlie months of May and June preceding. But 
for the war, the whole public debt could and would have been ex- 
tinguished within a short period ; and it was a part of my settled 
policy to do so, and thus relieve the people from its burden, and place 
the Government in a position which would enable it to reduce the pub- 
lic expenditures to that economical standard which is most consistent 
with the general welfare, and the pure and wholesome progress of our 
institutions. 

Among our just causes of complaint agair»,st Mexico, arising out of 
her refusal to treat for peace, as well before as since the war so un- 
justly commenced on her part, are the extraordinary expenditures in 
which we have been involved. Justice to our own people will make 
it proper that Mexico should be held responsible for these expen- 
ditures. 

Economy in the public expenditures is at all times a high duty 
which all public functionaries of the Government owe to the people. 
This duty becomes the more imperative in a period of war, when large 
and extraordinary expenditures become unavoidable. During the ex- 
istence of the war with Mexico all our resources should be husbanded, 
and no appropriations made except such as are absolutely necessary for 
its vigorous prosecution and the due administration of the Government. 
Objects of appropriation which in peace may be deemed useful or 
•proper, but which are not indispensable for the pubhc service, may, 
when the country is engaged in a foreign war, be well postponed to a 
future period. By the observance of this policy at our present session, 
large amounts may be saved to the Treasury, and applied to objects of 
pressing and urgent necessity, and thus the creation of a correspond- 
ing amount of public debt may be avoided. 

It is not meant to recommend that the ordinary and necessary ap- 
propriations for the support of Government should be withheld, but it 
is well known that at every session of Congress, appropriations are 
proposed for numerous objects which may or may not be made, with- 
out materially affecting the public interests; and these it is recom- 
mended should not be granted. 

The act passed iit your last session, " reducing the duties on imports," 
not having gone into operation until the first of the present month, there 
has not been time for its practical effect upon the revenue, and the 
business of the country, to be developed. It is not doubted, however, 
that the just policy which it adopts will add largely to our foreign 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 387 

trade, and promote the general prosperity. Although it cannot be 
certainly foreseen what amount of revenue it will yield, it is estimated 
that' it will exceed that produced by the act of 1842, which it super- 
seded. The leading principles established by it are, to levy the taxes 
with a view to raise revenue, and to impose them upon the articles 
imported according to their actual value. 

The actof 18-12, by the excessive rates of duty which it imposed on 
many articles, either totally excluded them from importation, or greatly 
reduced the amount imported, and thus diminished instead of producing 
revenue. By it the taxes were imposed not for the legitimate purpose 
of raising revenue, but to afford advantages to favored classes at the 
expense of a large majority of their fellow-citizens. Those employed in 
agriculture, mechanical pursuits, commerce, and navigation, were com- 
pelled to contribute from their substance to swell the profits and' 
overgrown wealth of the comparatively few who had invested their 
capital in manufactures. The taxes were not levied in proportion to 
the value of the articles upon which they were imposed ; but, widely 
departing from this just rule, the lighter taxes were, in many cases, 
levied upon articles of luxury and high price, and the heavier taxes on 
those of necessity and low price, consumed by the great mass of the 
people. It was a system the inevitable effect of which was to reheve 
favored classes and the wealthy few from contributing their just pro- 
portion for the support of Government, and to lay the burden on the 
labor of the many engaged in other pursuits than manufactures. 

A system so unequal and unjust has been superseded by the existing 
law, which imposes duties not for the benefit or injury of classes or pur- 
suits, but distributes, and, as far as practicable, equalizes the public 
burdens among all classes and occupations. The favored classes, who, 
under the unequal and unjust system which has been repealed, have 
heretofore realized large profits, and many of them amassed large 
fortunes, at the expense of many who have been made tributary to 
them, will have no reason to complain, if they shall be required to bear 
their just proportion of the taxes necessary for the support of Govern- 
ment. So far fro^n it, it will be perceived, by an examination of the 
existing law, that discriminations in the rates of duty imposed, within 
tl^.e revenue principle, have been retained in their favor. 

The incidental aid against foreign competition which they still enjoy 
gives them an advantage which no other pursuits possess ; but of this 
none others will complain, because the duties levied are necessary for 
revenue. These revenue duties, including freights and charges, which 
the importer must pay before he can come in competition with the 
home manufacturer in our iaarkets, amount, on nearly all our leading 
branches of manufactuto. to more f ban one third of the value of the 



388 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

imported article, and in some cases to almost one half its value. Witti 
such advantages it is not doubted that our domestic manufactur- 
ers will continue to prosper, realizing in well-conducted establish- 
ments even greater profits than can be derived from any other regular 
business. Indeed, so far from requiring the protection of even inci- 
dental revenue duties, our manufacturers in several leading branches 
are extending their business, giving evidence of great ingenuity and 
skill and of their ability to compete, with increased proi»pect of success, 
for the open market of the world. Domestic manufactures, to the 
value of several millions of dollars, which cannot find a market at 
home, are annually exported to foreign countries. With such rates of 
duty as those established by the existing law, the system will probably 
be permanent ; and capitalists, who have made, or shall hereafter make, 
their investments in manufactures, will know upon what to rely. The 
country will be satisfied with these rates, because the advantages 
which the manufacturers still enjoy result necegearily from the collec- 
tion of revenue for the support of Government. High protective duties, 
from their unjust operation upon the masses of the people, cannot fail 
to give rise to extensive dissatisfaction and complaint, and- to constant 
efforts to change or repeal them, rendering ail investments m manufac- 
tures uncertain and precarious. Lower and more permanejilS rates of 
duty, at the same time that they will yield to the manufacturer fair and 
remunerating profits, will secure him against the danger of fref^uenfi 
/changes in the system, which cannot fail to ruinously affect his interest. 
Simultaneously with the relaxation ot the restrictive policy by the 
•United States, Great Britain, from whose example we derived the sys- 
(tem, has relaxed hers. She has modified her corn laws, and reduced 
many other duties to moderate revenue rates. After ages of experience, 
the statesmen cf that countrj' have been constrained by a stern neces- 
sity, and by a putilic opinion having its deep foundation in the suffer- 
ings and wants of ieipoverishcd millions, to abandon a system, the 
eifect of which wasito .i'uild up immense fortunes in the hands of the 
few, and to reduce th* iaboring jnillions to pauperism and misery. 
Nearly in the same ratio :taat labor was depressed, 'capital yvas in- 
creasetl and concentrated by ifiie British protective policy. 

The evils; of the system in Qrejit Britain were at length rendered in- 
tolerable, and it has been abandQ¥«<J, but not without a severe strug- 
gle on the part of the protected and C^vored classes to retain the un- 
just advantages which they have ,£!? long enjoyed. It was to be 
expected that a similar struggle vvouldffec made by the same classes in 
the United States, whenever an attempt.v.'as made to modify or abolish 
«he s&me unjust system here. Tl<e prctectiv^ policv had been in opera- 
tion in tlie United States for a muxii s.'vcrter.u.'&od'. and its perr-icious 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 389 

effects were not, therefore, so clearly perceived and felt. Enough 
however, was known of these effects to induce its repeal. 

It would be strange if, in the face of the example of Great Britain, 
our principal foreign customer, and of the evils of a system rendered 
manifest in that country by long and painful experience, and in the 
face of the immense advantages which, under a more liberal commer- 
cial policy we are already deriving, and must continue to derive, by 
supplying her starving population with food, the United States should 
restore a policy which she has been compelled to abandon, and thus 
diminish her ability to purchase from us the food and other articles 
which she so much needs, and we so much desire to sell. By the sim- 
ultaneous abandonment of the protective policy by Great Britain and 
the United States, new and important markets have already been 
opened for our agricultural and other products ; commerce and naviga- 
tion have received a new impulse ; labor and trade have been released 
from the artificial trammels which have so long fettered them; and to 
a great extent reciprocity, in the exchange of commodities, has been 
introduced at the same time by both countries, and greatly for the 
benefit of both. Great Britain has been forced, by the pressure of 
circumstances at home, to abandon a pohcy which has been upheld 
for ages, and to open her markets for our immense surplus of bread- 
stuffs ; and it is confidently beHeved that other powers of Europe will 
ultimately see the wisdom, if they be not compelled by the pauperism 
and sufferings of their crowded population, to pursue a similar policy. 

Our farmers are more deeply interested in maintaining the just and 
liberal policy of the existing law than any other class of our citizens. 
They constitute a large majority of our population ; and it is well 
known that when they prosper, all other pursuits prosper also. They 
have heretofore not only received none of the bounties or favors of Gov- 
ernment, but, by the unequal operations of the protective policy, have 
been made, by the burdens of taxation which it imposed, to contribute 
to the bounties which have enriched others. 

When a foreign as well as a home market is opened to them, they 
must receive, as they are now receiving, increased prices for their pro- 
ducts. They will find a readier sale, and at better prices, for their 
wheat, flower, rice, Indian corn, beef, pork, lard, butter, cheese, and 
other articles, which they produce. The home market alone is inade- 
quate to enable them to dispose of the immense surplus of food and 
other articles which they are capable. of producing, even at the most 
reduced prices, for the manifest reason that they cannot be consumed 
in the country. The United States can, from their immense surplus, 
supply not only the home demand, but the deficiencies of food required 
by the whole world. 



390 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

That the reduced production of some of the chief articles of food 
in Great Britain, and other parts of Europe, may have contributed to 
increase the demand for our breadstuff's and provisions, is not doubted ; 
but that the great and efficient cause of this increased demand, and of 
increased prices, consists in the removal of artificial restrictions hereto- 
fore imposed, is deemed to be equally certain. That our exports of 
food, already increased and increasing beyond former example, under 
the more liberal policy which has been adopted, will be still vastly en- 
larged, unless they be checked or prevented by a restoration of the 
protective policy, cannot be doubted. That our commercial and navi- 
gating interests will be enlarged in a corresponding ratio with the in- 
crease of our trade is equally certain ; while our manufacturing interests 
will still be the favored interests of the country, and receive the inci- 
dental protection afi'orded them by revenue duties; and more than this 
they cannot justly demand. 

In my annual message of December last a tariff* of revenue duties 
based upon the principles of the existing law, was recommended, and 
I have seen no reason to change the opinions then expressed. In view 
of the probable beneficial effects of that law, I recommend that the 
policy established by it be maintained. It has but just commenced to 
operate ; and to abandon or modify it without giving it a fair trial, 
would be inexpedient and unwise. Should defects in any of its de- 
tails be ascertained by actual experience to exist, these may be here- 
after corrected ; but until such defects shall become manifest, the act 
should be fairly tested. 

It is submitted for your consideration whether it may not be proper, 
as a war measure, to impose revenue duties on some of the articles 
now embraced in the free list. Should it be deemed proper to impose 
Buch duties, with a view to raise revenue to meet the expenses of the 
war with Mexico, or to avoid to that extent the creation of a public 
debt, they may be repealed when the emergency which gave rise to 
them shall cease to exist, and constitute no part of the permanent 
policy of the country. 

The act of the sixth of August last, "to provide for the better or- 
ganization of the Treasury, and for the collection, safekeeping, transfer, 
and disbursement of the public revenue," has been carried into execu- 
tion as rapidly as the delay necessarily arising out of the appointment 
of new officers, taking and approving their bonds, and preparing and 
securing proper places for the safe keeping of the public money, would 
permit." It is not proposed to depart in any respect from the principles 
or policy on which this great measure is founded. There are, however, 
defects "in the details of the measure, developed by its practical opera- 
tion, which are fully set forth in the report of the Secretary of the 



BECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 391 

Treasury, to which the attention of Congress is invited. These defects 
would impair, to some extent, the successful operation of the law at all 
times, but are especially embarrassing when the country is engacred in 
a war, when the expenditures are greatly increased, when loans are 
to be effected, and the disbursements are to be made at point* many 
hundred miles distant, in some cases, from any depository, and a large 
portion of them in a foreign country. The modifications suggested in 
the report of the Secretary of the Treasury are recommended to your 
favorable consideration. 

In connection with this subject, I invite your attention to the impor- 
ance of establishing a branch of the mint of the United States at 
New York. Two thirds of the revenue derived from customs being 
collected at that point, the demand for specie to pay the duties will be 
large ; and a branch mint, where foreign coin and bullion could be im- 
mediately converted into American coin, would greatly facilitate the 
transaction of the public business, enlarge the circulation of gold and 
silver, and be, at the same time, a safe depository of the public money. 

The importance of graduating and reducing the price of such of the 
public lands as have been long offered in the market, at the minimum 
rate authorized by existing laws, and remain unsold, induces me again 
to recommend the subject to your favorable consideration. Many mil- 
hons of acres of these lands have been offered in the market for more 
than thirty years, and large quantities for more than ten or twenty 
years; and being of an inferior quality, they must remain unsalable 
for an indefinite period, unless the price at which they may be pur- 
chased shall be reduced. To place a price upon them above their 
real value is not only to prevent their sale, and thereby deprive the 
Treasury of any income from that source, but is unjust to the States in 
which they lie, because it retards their growth and increase of popula- 
tion, and because they have no power to levy a tax upon them as upon 
other lands within their limits, held by other proprietors than the United 
States, for the support of their local governments. 

The beneficial effects of the graduation principle have been realized 
by some of the States owning the lands within their limits, in which it 
has been adopted. They have been demonstrated also by the United 
States acting as the trustee of the Chickasaw tribe of Indians in the 
sale of their lands lying within the States of Mississippi and Alabama. 
The Chickasaw lands, which would not command in the market the 
minimum price estabhshed by the laws of the United States for the sale 
of their lands, were, in pursuance of the treaty of 1834 with that tribe, 
subsequently offered for sale at graduated and reduced rates for hmited 
periods. The result was, that large quantities of these lands were pur- 



392 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

chased, which would otherwise have remained unsold. The lands 
were disposed of at their real value, and many persons of limited means 
were enabled to purchase small tracts, upon which they have settled 
with their families. That similar results would be produced by the 
adoptftn of the graduation policy by the United States, in all the 
States in which they are the owners of large bodies of lands which 
have been long in the market, cannot be doubted. It cannot be a 
sound policy to withhold large quantities of the public lands from the 
use and occupation of our citizens, by fixing upon them prices which 
experience has shown they will not command. On the contrary, it 
is a wise policy to afford facilities to our citizens to become the owners 
at low and moderate rates, of freeholds of their own, instead of being 
the tenants and dependents of others. If it be apprehended that these 
lands, if reduced in price, would be secured in large quantities by spec- 
ulators or capitalists, the sales may be restricted, in limited quantities, 
to actual settlers or persons purchasing for purposes of cultivation. 

In my last annual message, I submitted for the consideration of Con- 
gress, the present system of managing the mineral lands of the United 
States, and recommended that they should be brought into market and 
sold, upon such terms and under such restrictions as Congress might 
prescribe. By the act of the eleventh of July last, "the reserved lead 
mines and contiguous lands in the States of Illinois and Arkansas, and 
Territories of -Wisconsin and lov/a," were authorized to be sold. The 
act is confined, in its operation, to ''lead mines and contiguous lands." 

A large portion of the public lands containing copper and other ores 
is represented to be very valuable ; and I recommend that provision be 
made authorizing the sale of these lands, upon such terms and condi- 
tions as their supposed value may, in the judgment of Congress, be 
deemed advisable, havingdue regard to the interests of such of our 
citizens as may be located upon them. 

It will be important, during your present session, to establish a terri- 
torial government, and to extend the jurisdiction and lawsof the United 
States over the Territory of Oregon. Our laws regulating trade and 
intercourse with the Indian tribes east of the Rocky Mountains should 
be extended to the Pacific Ocean ; and for the purpose of executing 
them, and preserving friendly relations with the Indian tribes within 
our limits, an additional number of Indian agencies will be required, 
and should be authorized by law. The establishment of custom- 
houses, and of post-offices and post-roads, and provision for the trans- 
portation of the mail on such routes as the public convenience will sug- 
gest, require legislative authority. It will be proper, also, to establish 
a surveyor-general's office in that territory, and to make the necea- 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 393 

sary provision for surveying the public lands, and bringing them 
into market. As our citizens who now reside in that distant region 
haye been subjected to many hardships, privations, and sacrifices in 
their emigration, and by their improvements have enhanced the value 
of the public lands in the neighborhood of their settlements, it is lecom- 
mended that liberal grunts bb made to them, of such portions of these 
lands as they may occupy, and that similar grants or rights of pre-emp- 
tion be made to all who may emigrate thither within a hmited period, 
to be prescribed by law. 

The report of the Secretary of War contains detailed infonnation 
relative to the several branches of the public service connected with 
that department. The operations of the army have been of a satisfac- 
tory and highly gratifying character. 

I recommend to your early and favorable consideration the measures 
proposed by the Secretary of War for speedily filhng up the rank and 
iile of the regular army, for its greater efficiency in the field, and for 
raising an additional force to serve during the war with Mexico. 

Embarrassment is likely to arise for want of legal provision authoriz- 
dng compensation to be made to the agents employed in the several 
States and Territories to pay the revolutionary and other pensioners 
the amounts allowed them by law. Your attention is invited to the 
recommendations of the Secretary of War on this subject. These 
agents incur heavy responsibilities and perform important duties, and 
no reason exists why they should not be placed on the same footing, 
•as to compensation, with other disbursing officers. 

Our relations with the various Indian tribes continue to be of a pa- 
cific character. The unhappy dissensions which have existed among 
the Cherokees for many years past have been healed. Since my last 
annual message important treaties have been negotiated with some of 
the tribes, by which the Indian title .to large* tracts of valuable land' 
within the limits of the States and Territories has been etinguish ed, 
and arrangements made for removing them to the country west of the 
Mississippi. Between three and four thousand, of different tribes, have 
been removed to the country provided for them by treaty stipulations, 
and arrangements have been made for others to follow. 

In our intercourse with the several tribes, particular attention has 
been given to the important subject of education. The number of 
schools established among them has been increased, and additional 
meahs provided, not only for teaching them the rudiments of educa- 
tion, but of instructing them in agriculture and the mechanic arts. 

I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Navy for a satisfac- 
tory view of the operations of the department under his charge during 

17* 



394 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 

the past year. It is gratifying to perceive, that while the war with 
Mexico has rendered it necessary to employ an unusual number of our 
armed vessels on her coasts, the protection due to our commerce in 
other quarters of the world has not proved insufficient. No means will 
be spared to give efficiency to the naval service in the prosecution of 
the war; and I am happy to know that the officers and men anxiously 
desire to devote themselves to the service of their country in any enter- 
prise, however difficult of execution. 

I recommend to your favorable consideration the proposition to add 
to each of our foreign squadrons an efficient sea steamer, and, as es- 
pecially demanding attention, the establishment at Pensacola of the 
necessary means of repairing and refitting the vessels of the navy em- 
ployed in the Gulf of Mexico. 

There are other suggestions in the report which deserve, and, I 
doubt not, will receive your consideration. 

The progress and condition of the mail service for the past year are 
fully presented in the report of the Postmaster General. The revenue 
for the year ending on the thirtieth of June last amounted to three 
million four hundred and eighty-seven thousand one hundred and 
ninety-nine dollars, which is eight hundred and two thousand six hun- 
dred and forty-two dollars and forty-five cents less than that of the 
preceding year. The payments for that department during the same 
time amounted to four million eighty-four thousand two hundred and 
ninety-seven dollars and twenty-two cents. Of this sum five hundred 
and ninety-seven thousand and ninety-seven dollars and eighty cents 
have been drawn from the Treasury. The disbursements for the year 
were two hundred and thirty-six thousand four hundred and thirty- 
four dollars and seventy-seven cents less than those of the preceding 
year. While the disbursements have been thus diminished, the mail 
facilities have been enlarged by new mail routes of five thousand seven 
hundred and thirty-nine miles ; an increase of transportation of one 
million seven hundred and sixty-four thousand one hundred and forty- 
five miles, and the establishment of four hundred and eighteen new 
post-offices. Coniractors, postmasters, and others, engaged in this 
branch of the service, have performed their duties with energy and faith- 
fulness deserving commendation. For many interesting details con- 
nected with the operations of this establishment, you are referred to the 
report of the Postmaster General ; and his suggestions for improving 
its revenues are recommended to your favorable consideration. I*re- 
peat the opinion expressed in my last annual message, that the busi- 
ness of this department should be so regulated that the revenues de- 
rived from it ehould be made to equal the expenditures; and it is be- 



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. 395 

lieved that this may be done by proper modifications of the present 
laws, as suggested in the report of the Postmaster General, withLH.t 
changing the present rates of postage. 

With full reliance upon the wisdom and patriotism of your delibera- 
tions, it will be my duty, as it will be my anxious desire, to co-operate 
with you in every constitutional effort to promote the welfare and 
maintain the honor of our common country. 









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